Ashes to Ashes
by Taline
Summary: AU In the midst of a World War II deathcamp, can five boys find a way to survive? WIP, violence, death, mild yaoi *CHAPTER 5 FINALLY UP!*
1. To Look Death in the Eye

_Author's Notes_: I hope this story is well received, so please leave me a review to let me know if you liked it. I changed just a few details about the death camps to accommodate the story, the big one being about the inmates having their hair cut when they arrived, mainly because I couldn't bring myself to get rid of Duo's braid, and I couldn't imagine any of the guys without their gorgeous locks, so please forgive me for that. Otherwise a lot of the details are pretty much the same. Other characters will come in later as well. Please read and review. This is a Work In Progress, and I'm not sure yet of all the details. But if you have any questions, email me or leave them in a review.

Warnings: mild yaoi later on, language, violence, anti-religious statements, death of main characters eventually

It was dark. Dark as night. The only light afforded to them was the tiny cracks of light that shown through little gaps in the boards as the train bumped and rattled down a creaky track. The world outside flashed by at an astonishing pace, but only those fortunate enough to be near the breaks in the warped wood could see it.

The air was stifling hot. It had been for five days now. The heat waves seemed to be trying to stuff the entire world into one cramped, stinking boxcar. The press of smelly, sweaty bodies made the air only thicker still.

Somewhere in the middle of the crush of dozens of damp bodies, a boy stood, leaning heavily against his neighbor. His dark brown hair hung limp over his flushed face, but dark blue eyes flickered from within them, observing even in the muted light. He leaned against the body next to him. The man was either unconscious or dead; he really didn't care to know which. Don't think, just keep yourself upright using the person next to you…

The train was silent except for the creak and clatter of the wheels on the tracks. Talking had ceased three days ago, and now the surroundings were nothing more than a silent mass of half-dead corpses. Five days with no food. Five days with no water. Five days not knowing where they were going or what was going to be done with them. It was enough to drive a person mad. For Heero Yuy, for that was the young boy's name, it was simply a mind game. A game their captors played to drive the inhabitants of the boxcar mad before finally delivering them to their final destination, whatever that would be. A box full of starving, half-crazed zombies was better than a mob of panicking, awake human beings. But he'd show them. He'd show them the damage one person could do. They would see what it was like to mess with Heero Yuy, to see what a stupid idea it was to snatch him up from the streets and fling him into this ruckus.

Sweat dripped down his face as he silently brooded. Night was coming on fast, and it went from being ungodly hot to being ungodly cold. The bodies did hardly anything for warmth, only serving as barriers between the biting wind and the other side of the train. The thin shirt and pants he wore hardly protected him from the wind's sting. He could barely move, his limbs feeling as if they were freezing. Not a pleasant feeling.

Sometime, it must have been around midnight, the train suddenly slowed, then screeched to a halt, the jerk throwing nearly everyone off balance. Heero steadied himself against the person he had been leaning on, eyes focused on the single boxcar door, ready for anything.

The door suddenly rolled open, light from a flashlight catching him squarely in the face, making him throw up one limp hand to shield his eyes, making it impossible to see who was behind the light. "Out!" ordered a stern, clipped voice. "Everyone who is not dead out!"

There was a mad scramble, if one could call a stumbling, jerking, slow mass a mad scramble, towards the boxcar door. Heero found himself swept up with the dozen or so people out of the car's seventy-five or so inhabitants. He slipped out of the car, his feet hitting the gravel beneath them and nearly giving out. He shifted himself up to steady himself, but someone grabbed him by the arm and shoved him into the crowd of people again. "Move it, stupid Jew! Get into a line!"

Heero gritted his teeth in anger. He wanted to sock the sneering man right in the nose of his fat face, but the crush of people surrounding him prevented him from doing so easily. There were more people on the gravel road now, from each of the train's twenty-five boxcars. A crowd of frightened, starved civilians, clinging tightly to each other, some crying, some just staring at nothing. A pathetic group of innocent people who had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time being the wrong religion.

"I said, straight line!" the man barked, and Heero suddenly became aware of several dozen men around them, all wearing brown uniforms and carrying flashlights and big guns. He growled softly, but he was shoved into a line by several stampeding people trying to obey. An order came to march, and the line straggled forward, taking Heero unwillingly with it.

The air nipped at his bare arms and face, kissing the sweat from his forehead, making him unconsciously shiver. The line moved slowly but steadily down towards an iron gate, down a slippery slope of gravel and rocks. They halted before it. Somewhere beyond the gate, a tall chimney rose high above the squat buildings. Black smoke belched from it, showering bits of ash down onto the rough dwellings inside the gate. The air was thick with a rancid smell, like overcooked meat.

The line was moving a bit slower now. Heero realized as they reached the gate, there were three lines being formed. The uniformed men were separating the crowds. Women to one side, men to another, and a third group being pushed in a completely different direction. The third line seemed to be composed mainly of older people, younger children, and invalids. A few women were in the crowd, clinging to babies and small children. There was much screaming and crying amongst the crowds as families were separated, wives and husbands ripped apart, brothers and sisters pulled away from one another. The uniformed men swung their guns, beating at hands and faces that tried to stay together, yelling and cursing.

Heero shivered. His own family, his aging grandfather, was not in this crowd. He was probably still back at their little house, waiting for Heero to return. He had run away many times before. His grandfather probably didn't even think much about it. He probably figured Heero would be back when he felt like it.

A rough hand grabbed him by the collar and wrenched him from the crowd. He found himself in the grip of a blond man. Bright blue eyes stared at him from a tanned face. Heero stared right back. It had never occurred to him that he might not be counted as an adult. Would he be sent into the line with the younger children? He could see death written on the faces of those in that line, condemned to die, and they knew it.

"How old are you?" the blond soldier demanded, gazing down at him.

"Fifteen," Heero replied, his voice soft but powerful, the one word conveying the strength he was hiding behind his small frame.

The blond man smiled just a bit. Heero held his eyes with his own, glaring defiantly. If they were going to kill him, he wouldn't go down without a fight. He'd take this one out with him, and more if he could before they caught him with their guns.

"From now on, you're sixteen if you want to live." The man gave him a shove into the line of men.

Heero stared in surprise, but he didn't have much time before the guards were shoving him along. He followed the line inside, flanked by guards with barking dogs all the way. They shoved the group of men inside a tiny room. "Strip!" they ordered.

Heero's eyes widened in surprise. What the hell?

"Now!" they ordered. "Anyone with clothes on in one minute will be shot!"

Not a great incentive, but an incentive nonetheless. Heero growled softly, but he followed everyone in the mad scramble to remove clothing, depositing them on the ground, shamefully averting his eyes from everything and everyone around him, who seemed to be doing the same thing.

Suddenly the crowd was herded into another room. All doors were shut, and then a torrent of water fell from holes in the ceiling. Sudden screams filled the room. Heero found himself covered with freezing cold water that made his teeth chatter. The water pittered in droplets on his head, the full spray washing over him, cleansing away the sweat and filth from his naked body. He laughed softly to himself as he titled his head back to dampen his hair. They starve them, separate them, and then clean them, all before delivering them into their final fate. What an ironic, little game. He swallowed a mouthful of water, something he hadn't tasted in five days. It soothed his parched tongue and filled up his empty belly with its wonderful coldness.

As abruptly as it had started, the water turned off, and the crowd was herded into the next room where a shirt and pants were shoved into his hands, along with a pair of shoes. "Put these on!" came the order.

Dripping wet, Heero slipped on the clothing. It clung to his damp skin like wet paper. The pants were about the right size, but the shirt hung down to almost his knees, the long sleeves covering his hands. The shoes were two different sizes. One was too small and one was too big. Walking seemed almost impossible. It was limp and drag, limp and drag nearly every step. But he didn't have any time to consider finding a new pair before the group was herded outside into the freezing night.

"You are now all inmates of the work camp Auschwitz. If you work hard, you will stay alive. If you do not work hard, you will die. It's that simple."

Heero gritted his teeth, his hand clenching into a fist by his side. Who were these jerks who thought they would do such a thing to him and these other innocent people? How could they think they could get away with this? He would make them sorry… He clenched his hands by his side, glancing around to make sure no one else was in the way, then took a deep breath. If he was going to die, he was going to take two or three of them down with him. He took a step towards one of them-.

Someone grabbed him from behind, arms looped under his, restraining him rather effectively. A soft snarl escaped from his lips, and he struggled against the hold, but it was extraordinarily strong, and he could not break it. He turned his head as much as he could to see the idiot that had a hold on him, fully intending to inflict some major damage on the offender.

Narrow, black eyes peered back at him in a rather commanding look out of an Oriental face. Heero found himself frozen by the power behind the gaze. It was not one of fear like all the other people surrounding him. It was a look of wisdom and a fiery spirit burning behind black orbs that gazed back at him.

"Live today, fight tomorrow," the young man responded, softly so only Heero could hear.

Heero let out a soft hiss and struggled against him. "Let go."

"Only if you don't do anything rash," the Oriental teen replied.

Heero struggled harder, but the boy only held him tighter. A silent battle of wills issued between them for several seconds, both glaring into each other's eyes, neither willing to give. But finally Heero relaxed in the boy's grip and nodded slowly. The Oriental boy studied him a moment, then let him go, careful not to hurt him. They both stood still for a moment before the Oriental teen gave him a tiny, tight smile. "I'm Chang Wufei."

Heero watched him a moment, then slowly muttered, "Heero Yuy."

Wufei nodded slowly, then turned his head forward to where one of the soldiers was speaking again, ordering people into two lines. His eyes stayed forward as he spoke to Heero. "Stay with me. We shall overcome, my friend. But you cannot act without thinking."

Heero nodded and slowly moved to stand behind him. "Where are you from?" he asked softly, keeping his voice low so the guards would not hear him.

"Southern Germany. You?"

"Same."

"You're a Jew?"

Did this boy have any tact at all?

"Yes. You don't look Jewish."

"I'm not," the Chinese boy said with a shrug. "My family was harboring Jews who were trying to escape to Switzerland. Someone turned us in."

"Oh."

"You don't talk much, do you?" Wufei questioned, smiling thinly again.

Heero gave him a slight glare. Wufei shrugged and turned forward again. "Suit yourself."

Heero crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the ground for a moment before someone grabbed Wufei in front of him and pushed him down into a chair. It was just then that Heero finally figured out what they were in line for. There was a man sitting at the table with a list of numbers in front of him. As Wufei held out his right arm, the man took it and started to write on it with a strange sort of pen that left blue marks on the soft, yellow skin. Wufei looked away, his eyes closed, his teeth clenched firmly, obviously forcing himself to be quiet. Heero watched in horror. At the other line, there was a young man getting a number written on the inside of his arm, tears running silently down his face. How could they do this to them? Give them a number, take away their freedom…

The soldier controlling the line pulled Wufei up as the man finished writing on his arm. The next moment, Heero found himself grabbed and shoved down in the hard-backed, wooden chair.

"Right arm," the tattoo man ordered in a weary voice that indicated how tired he really was, how many times he had said that in what must have been the longest time in his life.

Heero glared angrily at him. How could he follow these butchers of innocents? How could he sit there and take away their names, their pasts, their lives? He looked up to see Wufei standing nearby, watching him. He gave him a slight glare, but a sudden click behind him of a gun cocking was a startling reminder of his precarious position. He hastily held out his right arm, gritting his teeth in silent, seething anger. How dare they… How could they…

A sharp burning sensation in his arm drew his attention. He looked over to the man who was busy writing on his arm with the same pen, wiping away blood as it appeared. Heero gritted his teeth harder. The pain was enough to make him want to whimper, but he would not allow that. He was strong. He could take it. Even Wufei had kept quiet, and there was no way Heero was going to let Wufei be the only one to not make a sound at this cruel treatment.

It was over soon, and Heero found himself pushed to his feet. The guard shoved him in the direction Wufei had been pushed moments earlier. Heero looked around for the Chinese boy, spotting him watching him from where he was being herded into another line. Heero moved over to the line and stood behind him again, his teeth clenched in anger.

Wufei's eyes were focused forward, but he spoke to him in a soft voice. "If we team up, we may be able to survive. Agreed?"

"Yeah," Heero said, just as soft.

"Stay behind me," Wufei told him. "They're separating people."

Heero nodded just a bit, looking straight forward in anger. He would make them sorry they captured Heero Yuy. He would take out as many of them as he could so they couldn't do this to people again.

One soldier walked by him and thrust two thin blankets into his hands. Heero took them without thinking about it. His mind was already full of ways he could take out some officers with him… If he died, it was for the greater cause…

He almost walked into Wufei who had come to a stop outside of a nearby barrack. It was a squat, little building that looked very much like it might fall down at any time. It was made of rough wood and brick, looking rather haphazard, like it wasn't sure why it was there or why it was staying upright.

"You two, inside," ordered a guard nearby who was separating people into groups to put in barracks. "Find a spot. Move!"

Heero debated jumping him, but a hard nudge on his arm stopped him. Wufei gestured towards the door with a pointed look in his eyes. Heero caught his eye and nodded once, and they moved over to the door. The guard pushed them inside, then slammed the door behind them, plunging them into darkness.

As their eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light, Wufei and Heero surveyed the room forlornly from their spot just inside the door. Nearly every bunk seemed to be occupied by at least four people, and they all glared at them, as if daring them to try to join them. Heero glared back.

"What are we going to do?" Wufei asked from next to him where he was clutching his blankets securely to his chest.

Suddenly someone moved towards them. A baby-faced teenager, with a long braid down his back and large, violet eyes smiled at them. "Hey!" he said in a bubbly sort of voice. "Do you two need a bunk?"

Wufei nodded slowly while Heero merely observed the other boy in silence.

"I have a completely free bunk, aside from me. You two are welcome to join me."

"Very well," Wufei agreed. "Come on, Heero."

The two followed after the braided boy to a nearby bunk.

"We're on the top one," the boy said, hoisting himself up onto the headboards of the lowest bunk and clambering up. Heero followed after him, tossing his blanket up onto it to use both hands. Wufei followed after him.

The bed was made of hard, wooden slats. The braided teen had spread one blanket out over it, obviously trying to make it more comfortable. Heero slouched down on the bed. The ceiling was rather low, and he couldn't sit up straight, or he would smack his head. Wufei perched next to him, dark eyes on the braided stranger.

The boy smiled at them, his eyes shining even in the dim light. "Inmate number J56322, Duo Maxwell, at your service."

"Chang Wufei," said the Chinese boy, holding out his hand to shake.

"Cool." Dup shook the hand, then turned to Heero. "You?"

"Heero Yuy," Heero replied after a moment's pause.

Duo nodded, then stretched a bit. "Well, it's late. We have to get up at three, so you might want to try to sleep."

"Three?" Wufei asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Roll call takes forever. Now, at least, I have a group again for roll call."

"A group?"

"Yeah. My other bunk partners were… chosen… a few days ago. So I had to find another bunch of people to stand with. It wasn't fun. They didn't like me. But now that I have you two, we only need two more people. That shouldn't be that hard to find."

Heero studied Duo with silent interest. This boy was probably the same age as them, yet he didn't seem very bitter like most people around them. He was friendly and caring and didn't seem to mind sharing all these details with two complete strangers. And he seemed to know a lot about the camp, which would be helpful.

"How long have you been here?" he questioned.

"Hmm… I couldn't tell you exactly, since I don't have a calendar, but… At least ten months."

"Almost a year?" Wufei found this encouraging. If Duo could survive that long, it must be possible.

"Yeah. Something like that." Duo smiled brightly, laid down and pulled his one blanket over his body. "Come on, I'm tired."

Heero and Wufei lay down, pulling their blankets over themselves. Wufei drifted off almost immediately, but Heero stayed awake for a while, staring at the ceiling. Duo knew how to survive, and he probably knew how the camp worked so he could find a way to… to… What was he was trying to accomplish anyway? One person couldn't make a huge difference… But, if he could take out the leader of the camps… He could break this place down…

It grew darker and darker, until he couldn't see anything anymore. Around him, he could hear quiet breathing, snoring. Some people were crying. Others were speaking what sounded very much like prayers. Prayer. He hadn't prayed in forever. His grandfather was a staunch Jew, praying several times a day, celebrating all the feast days with all the tradition they deserved. He had pleaded with Heero to pray with him. Pray for the Messiah to come. He had done it to please his grandfather, but the whole idea had seemed foolish to him. How could anyone trust in anything they couldn't see? No Messiah had come, and no Messiah was going to come. These hopeless fools who prayed devoutly to God every night, praying for Him to save them from this living hell… If God really existed, this whole thing wouldn't have happened. No caring God would let humans do this to other humans…

He didn't know how long he thought before he drifted off to sleep. But the next thing he knew, Duo was shaking him gently awake. "Heero? Hey, Heero! Wake up!"

"'M 'wake."

"Good. Let's go."

Duo was off the bunk before Heero even had both eyes open. Wufei was gone the next moment. Heero scrambled off the bed. Around him, dozens upon dozens of men were getting up, some in various states of undress, all hurrying to get up and head for the door. He looked around, trying to find his new friends in the crowd.

"Don't get lost." Duo grabbed him by the collar and pulled him along with him towards the door, Wufei by his side. "I don't want to have to find you later. It's absolute hell trying to find one person."

Heero pushed Duo's hand away from his shirt, but he followed along.

"We're going to be separated for work duty, most likely. I work in the organization detail. Most likely you two will be picked for manual labor. Digging trenches, building more barracks, so on and so forth, etcetera," Duo told them as he led them out the door. It was still dark outside. The stars glittered high above them, like tiny diamonds taunting them because they couldn't reach. Heero looked up at the stars, glaring at them, as if they were the source of all this turmoil. He almost walked into another inmate.

"Watch it, brat," the bigger man snapped, giving Heero a shove that nearly knocked him backwards.

"What's your problem?" Heero snapped, regaining his balance and glaring into the man's glittering, brown eyes.

"Little babies like you," the man hissed. "You cause problems and get the rest of us in trouble."

Heero balled up his fists, ready to sock the man in the middle of his flabby face, but Duo suddenly darted in front of him, pushing Heero back a few steps. "Leave him alone, Tubarov. He hasn't done anything wrong."

The man snorted softly and glared at Duo. "Bitch," he snarled. He spat at Duo's feet and stormed away.

Heero hissed and moved to race after him, but Wufei grabbed his arms. "Don't."

Heero growled, struggling. "That bastard! Let go!"

"Leave it!" Duo ordered, straightening his shirt. "He's always like that. He'll be gone soon."

"What do you mean?" Heero asked, shrugging out of Wufei's arms, standing down from attack mode.

"He's only been here for about four months. He works in the kitchen detail, which is how he's been able to keep up so much weight. For some reason he hates all people younger than him. Which is pretty easy, considering he's probably a hundred or so." Duo shrugged and brushed his hair back a bit with his hand. "Just ignore him. Come on. We better hurry."

Heero and Wufei followed after him. Everyone around them seemed to be lining up in groups of five. Duo shoved his way through the throngs of people, pulling Heero and Wufei after him. He came to an empty space and motioned for them to line up behind him. "We'll be here for a while. Whatever you do, don't move. They'll come soon to count us, give us breakfast, and then choose their work details. Don't talk to me til the food comes, all right?"

Heero and Wufei nodded. Duo turned and faced forward, standing up straight, his hands at his sides, like a soldier at attention. They mimicked him, staring straight ahead. Wufei became aware that two people were standing behind him, but he didn't dare turn around to check who.

Minutes turned into an hour, and then two. The wind blew, ruffling their hair and clothes, making everyone, even Duo, shiver. Heero's legs were starting to feel like jelly, his knees aching like fire, his body feeling frozen. But still he stood, eyes on Duo's long braid, his fists clenched at his side. His eyes threatened to close, but he would not let himself fall asleep.

After almost three hours of standing still in the worst torture Heero was sure he had ever been through, a group of soldiers appeared on the horizon. They surveyed the lines of men. Heero sucked in a breath. The soldier who had pulled him out of line the day before was in the group, glancing over the lines now with a bored look.

One soldier, this one a woman with glasses and braided, brown hair, walked along the rows, counting the groups. She passed by Duo without a second glance. However, the bored soldier was watching her, and, when she passed Duo's group, looked at Heero in slight surprise. Heero shifted his eyes just a bit, and their eyes met. The soldier's ice blue eyes narrowed a bit. Heero's narrowed as well in a tight glare, holding the soldier's eyes. The tension between them nearly crackled with electricity. Heero saw him shift his grip on his gun.

After a few minutes, the counting lady motioned two men forward. They hurried off in one direction. Heero wondered where they were going, but they soon returned, carrying between them a huge kettle. They set it down by the group of soldiers, then moved back into line.

Duo reached for a bowl he had hanging from a string on his waist, glancing back at Heero and Wufei. "Breakfast. You'll probably get your bowls at lunchtime. You'll have to keep them. It's the only one you'll get. Til then, you can share mine." He moved over to the cauldron, joining a group of people already scrambling around it.

Heero glanced back at Wufei, catching his eye. Wufei gazed back at him a moment before Duo returned, his bowl full of something thick that was some color between green and white and had the consistency of mud. He lifted the bowl to his lips and swallowed a few mouthfuls before wiping the brim of the bowl and handing it to Heero. "Here, drink a little. I'll warn you now, it's gross."

"Thanks for the warning," Heero said, lifting the bowl towards his face. It was slightly warm and smelled like a bog, but he put the bowl to his lips and opened his mouth.

Something filled his mouth and almost made him choke. There were things in it that were not food! He could taste cloth pieces, chips of wood, glass… He choked and coughed, spitting out the mouthful and retching violently. Thankfully, his stomach was empty, so there wasn't much to get rid of.

Duo's hand went over to gently touch his back. "I know it's horrible, but it's all you're gonna get. Come on, try again."

Heero looked up at him, glaring slightly. "This is not food."

"I know," Duo said with a slight shrug. "Don't have to tell me twice. But you're going to have to eat it, or you'll never make it through the workday. Come on. Hold your nose and swallow."

Heero did as Duo suggested, pinching his nose shut and swallowing a thick mouthful. It threatened to come up again, but he forced it down.

"Good," Duo encouraged. "Another one."

Heero swallowed two more mouthfuls. Duo nodded. "Great. I know it's icky, but you get used to it." He took the bowl from Heero and handed it to Wufei with the same instructions. Wufei took it and swallowed, having just about the same reaction as Heero. Duo fussed like a mother hen between them, making sure they both ate and didn't throw up.

Once the bowl was empty, Duo took it back, wiping it clean on the side of his pants. "Good. Looks like we don't get coffee this morning, but I don't think your stomachs would handle it anyway. Lunchtime you'll probably get some bread, which should help. Now, let's line up again so we can get our jobs."

Heero and Wufei nodded, looking forward again. Heero's mind wandered even as his body stayed rigidly in place. There was no way this could be real, but it had to be. How were they expected to live on a diet of sludge and glass? And work? He had no problem with working, but being forced to work on a practically empty stomach while being threatened with almost certain death was not the way he had planned to live his life. And he was pretty sure no one else did either. They were just normal people, trying to live the one life they were given to the fullest. They could not help how they were born, what they looked like, or how they were brought up. And yet, these people standing before them with their guns had taken away their quality of life to imprison them for no more than the simple fact that they were different. Wasn't that what the American Civil War was about so many years ago? Well, there would be no civil war to help them. Everyone was afraid they would be sent to this hellhole and killed too.

The air nipped at his face and stung his body through his thin, cotton clothing. His forever-messy brown hair whipped about his face again, slapping him like a rebuke for letting his mind wander. The soldier with the blond hair was watching him again. Heero gave him a slight glare, his hands clenching at his side. He would make them all sorry for what they'd done. When he got ahold of them, they would regret ever messing with Heero Yuy!


	2. Together At Last

_Author's Notes:_ Thank you to all those who reviewed my first chapter. I finally got a chance to update! I have a few quick notes. Special thanks to my buddies, Pickles and LittleVixen for beta-reading and checking out my details. I am taking a few liberties with this camp, combining them together a bit and changing a few details, such as Lady Une being an officer. But since this is AU, I think I can have a little freedom to work. And more things will come up later that probably would not have occurred, but please bear with me. If you don't like it, you can stop reading. And now, here are my thank yous and notes from the last chapter.

Kachikara (You know me, I will:)), Evil Cheshire Cat (Special thanks for reviewing), Exileian (Yes, I know), Cali, Ketami, yama-chan (Have you ever read _I Have Lived A Thousand Years_? I recommend it. Read her section about the soup. Yes, they did eat things that were not food in them. As for roll call, probably right. I'm taking a few liberties), Kakarots-Frying-Pan, Black Hawk Down (Nope. Please read on. I think you're thinking about Zechs), Kasra (Special thanks for reviewing, and Heero I belive lost track of time. But he's also very tough. I'll leave that open for speculation. And no, Duo is not homosexual in this story like you might have thought, though he is rather touchy-feely, especially in this chapter. But good note), kerwin inuyasha, michelle england, Wolfgirl333 (Read on, and you see), and Kinkosami (Sorry. I'm the angst queen, and this is Auschwitz, after all.) Please review my chapters, and I will personally thank you each time. Enjoy reading!

Warnings: mild yaoi later on, language, violence, anti-religious statements, death of main characters eventually

The sun beat down relentlessly upon them. Backs bent, eyes on the unyielding ground, pickaxes and shovels thumped against the ground with sick-sounding thuds that shook the atrophied bodies of the camp inmates each time they brought the heavy tools down.

Wufei glanced up from his work. The sun beat down on his ebony hair, which he was sure he could use to fry eggs on by now. He was sweating more than he ever had in his life, and it wasn't quite even noon yet. He brushed a few stray strands of black hair from his eyes that had pulled free from the short ponytail at the back of his head, surveying the group of diggers near them. Nearly every one of them was working unseeingly, their eyes blank, their bodies moving automatically. They were already corpses, just doing as they were told, waiting for death to come. He gritted his teeth in anger. They couldn't give up. That was giving in to the oppression they faced.

A little further down the row, a boy caught his eye. He looked to be about the same age as him and Heero. He had long, light brown hair that hung over his face, obscuring his eyes from vision. He was slightly taller but very slender, with long legs and strong arms. He worked with a sort of furious but controlled energy. Wufei gazed at him, keeping up his own digging.

For a few moments, the boy didn't acknowledge him at all. But then, as if sensing eyes upon him, he slowly looked up from what he was doing, not stopping his nearly furious digging pace. His long bangs obscured one of his eyes from vision, but the other emerald green one caught Wufei's eye. They gazed at each other for several moments before the brown haired youth glared slightly and looked back to his work. Wufei blinked in surprise, his digging pausing as he stared at him.

"Keep working!" growled one of the soldiers, marching past and giving him a kick in the leg. Wufei quickly dug his pick ax back into the heavy earth, glaring angrily at nothing, wanting to swing the ax and take off the guard's head, but the fact that the other guards all had guns did not point to his favor. He kept digging, fire burning intensely in his eyes.

Once the guard had passed, the teen further down that he had looked at before glanced up at him, watching him intensely. Wufei glanced up at him again. Their eyes locked for a moment before the youth gave him the barest hint of a smile, looked away, and went back to work.

Once lunch time came, when the sun was high overhead and beating down on them like a furnace, the guards let them stop, pointing towards a wagon that hosted several dozen bowls of some soup and a few bowls of coffee. Heero managed to get one of the bowls of coffee after shoving his way through the group, moving to Wufei's side with it. Wufei held onto his bowl of soup carefully, watching the other inmates push and shove for the food, as if it was their last meal. Perhaps it would be.

He and Heero sat down on the soft grass, slowly sipping their meal, passing the bowls back and forth. Wufei barely noticed the taste, his mind elsewhere. Who was that young man that seemed so focused and yet so distant from all that was taking place around him? He saw no hatred in the green eyes, only determination. A fire inside him stoked by the will to live burned within the slender body, controlling his movements and his actions. Wufei was so buried in his own thoughts, he didn't notice the taste of the soup with the consistency of water and the coffee with the consistency of sludge.

Suddenly someone moved in front of him, casting him into shadow. Wufei looked up, squinting as the sun behind the figure hit his dark eyes, obscuring the person's face in darkness, but he could make out bright green eyes and long, brown hair. The young man he had been looking at!

They regarded each other for a moment before the taller boy opened his mouth and let out a string of words, none of which Wufei recognized at the moment.

"Wie Bitte?"

"Pourquoi regardiez-vous fixement moi?" the boy repeated.

Wufei blinked. That definitely was not German… It sounded rather fast and nasal… French! He thought for a moment, trying to remember the little French he had studied in school. "Je… je ne… comprends pas. Parlez-vous alle… allemand?"

The green-eyed boy blinked, hesitated, before asking in weak, faltering German, "Why are you watch me?"

Wufei looked him in the eye before slowly answering, "You seemed different than everyone else."

The young man seemed to process that for a moment before slowly nodding, seemingly satisfied with that answer, not moving, regarding them with unreadable, green eyes. Finally, he spoke. "You too."

Wufei smiled just a tiny bit, setting down his bowl and getting to his feet. Standing right in front of the other, he could see the green-eyed boy was slightly taller and a bit more slender than he, but looked to be roughly the same age. "Chang Wufei," he said, holding out his hand to shake.

The boy glanced down at the hand before slowly taking it and giving it a formal shake. "Trowa Barton."

Wufei nodded, releasing the warm hand. "Where are you from?"

"Everywhere." Trowa flipped his arm over and rolled up his sleeve to reveal the blue marks on his arm reading G72543. "I am gypsy."

"A gypsy? Why would you be here?" Wufei asked, studying the numbers with a strange sort of curiosity.

"Gypsy are not 'pure'," Trowa said simply, as if that would explain the whole thing.

"Ah." Wufei was not quite sure how to respond to that, but he ended up not having to, because Heero stood up, regarding the taller teen with a suspicious look.

Wufei instantly realized he had been rude. "Trowa, this is Heero Yuy. Heero, this is Trowa Barton."

The two boys shared eye contact for a moment, neither extending a hand to shake.  Finally the boy called Trowa turned on his heel. "I go now."

Wufei nodded as Trowa strode away, then sat down again, picking up his bowl. Trowa Barton. A strong young man, and perhaps one day a valuable ally. Wufei would remember him.

"Hey, you made it back!" Duo congratulated as they returned from roll call, smiling brightly as they crawled up onto their bunk, a bit slower than they had the night before. Heero glowered in reply, Wufei just nodded sourly. Duo didn't seem to notice, or care, about their gloominess. They hadn't been allowed to talk during evening roll call, even when they were sharing dinner, and he wanted to make up for the hours of silence. "If you survived the first work day, that's always good. They didn't write down your numbers, did they?"

Wufei glanced at Heero, who raised a questioning brow.

"I'll take that as a no," Duo replied. "Good. Hey, I have something for each of you," he said, giving them a bright smile. He dropped his voice down low, leaning closer to them. "Since I work in the sorting group, I am able to _organize_ some things when people need them." He gave them a cheerful grin, reaching down to his feet. "I got you some shoes, Heero. They're the same size, and hopefully closer a match than those other ones you're wearing." He slid something off his foot, and Heero realized he had put a larger pair of shoes around his own that he was wearing. It seemed like a rather tight fit, but they looked similar and easily passed for his shoes. "Try 'em on. I want to see if they fit."

Heero gave him a slight glare as Duo held out the shoes, bending over them so no one else would see. "I didn't ask for you to get them for me."

"You didn't know I could get them for you," Duo replied with a sweet smile. "I'm not asking anything in return. I just want you to have shoes that fit you. There's no way you'll be able to work properly with such mismatched shoes. Now, put these on before someone sees. We'll all be in trouble if they do." He held the shoes out again.

Heero quickly took them, slipping off his own mismated ones. He pulled the other ones on quickly. They fit almost perfectly, perhaps a bit big, but nothing he couldn't walk properly in. "They fit," he said simply.

"Good," Duo replied with a smile. "I had to get them big enough to fit over mine, which was not all that easy, but I figured we probably have about the same size feet."

Heero nodded once, curtly. Softly, as if he wasn't quite sure about saying it, he slowly replied, "I… appreciate it."

"No problem." Duo beamed at him. "If I can, I'll try to get you a smaller shirt too. You look like you're gonna drown in that one." He then turned to Wufei with another cheery grin. "I got you some bandages to put over that cut on your arm."

Wufei blinked in surprise. "How did you know about that?" he asked, glancing down at his long sleeve that went down just past his wrist. The large, but not deep, gash he had gotten on his arm at some point on the train was almost up by his shoulder on his arm. There was no way Duo could see it.

"I saw it when you took your shirt off for bed last night. Now, do you want them or not?"

Wufei blinked in surprise, but he nodded. "Yes."

"Good." Duo slipped off his left shoe and pulled out a long, white, folded strip, handing it to Wufei. "I was able to soak it with some stuff that will help keep the wound clean. It's dried by now, but it should still work through the bandages."

"How were you able to do that?" Wufei asked in surprise, slipping the bandages up his sleeve to hide them.

"The bottle had a leak," Duo said simply in a voice that clearly stated the bottle had had no such thing. "It spilled, and I cleaned it up."

Heero blinked and studied Duo. Under the cheerful smile and trustful, violet eyes, there was an intelligent young man who knew how to survive and how to help others survive with him. And he wasn't afraid to steal to do so. Duo was a valuable asset for information and possibly anything else he might need. Duo could help him find a way to get out of here, to dismantle the organization that was the SS and find a way to stop them and their cruelty…

"Well, I want to go to bed."

So much for getting information tonight. Heero watched as Duo pulled back the blankets on his side of the bed. He ached all over, and his stomach felt like a rock or a lead weight or the shovel he had been lugging around all day. He sighed and pulled the blankets over himself, nudging off his new shoes so they were down by the foot of the bed. Duo had really gone to great lengths to make sure they were protected and cared for. He had never met someone as kind and helpful. It was shocking to find such a caring person in the midst of this hellhole. Heero stared at Duo's relaxed form for a moment before closing his own dark blue eyes. Tomorrow he would have to thank Duo properly, but tonight he needed to sleep. After a few moments of trying to relax, Heero finally drifted off to sleep, wondering how much longer they would have to survive in this hell on earth.

The next few days passed in a whirl, melding into one long week. Duo kept Wufei and Heero close all the time except when they went off to dig trenches during the day. At nights they huddled together on the bed, trying to keep warm and talking quietly. Well, to be more accurate, Duo talked, Wufei listened, and Heero pretended to ignore.

The first week passed, and Heero and Wufei were adjusting to the ways of the camp. The not quite edible food was no longer a struggle to choke down, and the continuous work, though still horrible torture, did not leave them passed out on the bed as often.

Duo was braiding his hair later one evening after work, Heero staring at the ceiling, deep in thought, Wufei sitting still, meditating. It had been a long, tiring day, and no one, even Duo, really felt like talking.

All of a sudden the door of the barrack opened, shedding the fading evening light into the dim room. Everyone looked up worriedly. Duo glanced back at Heero and Wufei quickly. Selection? Now? Would Heero and Wufei be all right?

But no sharp command came, no soldiers with guns or officers with clipboards. Just two figures. A soldier, and one smaller figure, only half the size of the big man. A child, no older than them, with brilliant blond hair and wide, scared, blue eyes. The soldier shoved the boy a step forward, then backed up, slamming the door closed, trapping the tiny youth in the room.

The boy stared around the room in terror, like a kitten trapped in a dog pound. He clutched his two blankets to his chest like a shield, frantically looking for a friendly face.

"Oh, look at him," Duo said, peering over the edge of the bed at the blond boy. "He doesn't look old enough to be here…"

"None of us are either," Heero reminded him curtly, annoyed at having been disturbed from his thinking.

Duo shrugged. "Well, he needs a bunk, and we have plenty of room."

Plenty of room? Heero started to protest that there was barely enough room for himself, Duo, and Wufei all to lay flat on the bed without touching, but Duo was already off the bed and striding towards the little blond.

"Hey."

The sudden voice so close to him nearly made the tiny youth leap out of his skin. He dropped his blankets, looking frantically towards the voice, his heart pounding in his ears. A concerned pair of violet eyes met his own blue ones. "You okay?"

The voice was so gentle and caring that he almost melted on the spot. "I… I'm scared," he said softly to the owner of the gentle voice and caring eyes.

The boy's face turned into a pretty smile. "We're all scared, kiddo. Come on. You can bunk with me and my pals." He bent down to scoop up the blankets the blond boy had dropped. "What's your name?"

The boy seemed to pull himself upright in a regal pose, his back straight, his chin slightly lifted as he announced in a polite but firm voice, "My name is Quatre Raberba Winner. My father is Frederick Winner, a politician from Berlin."

Duo stared at him for a second before blinking and rolling his eyes. "Come on, let's go, kid." He grabbed Quatre's arm and pulled him towards the bunk.

Wufei watched with amused, black eyes. "Duo certainly has a way with people."

Heero didn't bother to look up from where he was trying to roll up his pant legs to examine a scratch on his knee.

Duo pulled the shaking, blond boy over to their bunk and gave him a soft smile. "Up. Top bunk."

The blond boy looked mortified. "How am I supposed to get up?"

Duo blinked. "Climb. Come on, Quat, I'll make sure you don't fall."

"It's Quatre," the boy corrected, looking up hesitantly. He carefully grasped one of the wooden slats and tried to pull himself up, but he almost instantly landed on the ground again. Duo rolled his eyes.

"Wufei, can you grab his hand?"

Wufei nodded and slid his hand over the bed to grab Quatre's hand. Duo gave him a push, and Wufei pulled him up onto the bunk. Duo followed quick after him.

Quatre moved closer to Duo as he stared at Wufei and Heero. Wufei gave him the barest hint of a smile. Heero didn't even look up. "Guys, this is Quatre. Political prisoner," Duo replied, resting his hands lightly on Quatre's thin shoulders. "This is Chang Wufei, and that's Heero Yuy."

"Nice to meet you," Quatre said, smiling weakly, extending his hand politely to Wufei. Wufei gave a strange glance before shaking once, abruptly. Quatre moved his hand to Heero. Heero ignored him. Quatre seemed to melt, shrinking closer to Duo.

Duo smiled softly. "Come on. Let's bed down."

Quatre nodded slowly, taking his blankets from Duo's arms. "I… I forgot to ask, what is your name?"

"Inmate number J56322, Duo Maxwell." The braided teen grinned. "I've been here longest, so ask me if you have any questions."

"How long?" Quatre asked. "If… if you don't mind me asking?"

"About ten months, I think…"

Quatre looked surprised. "How have you been able to survive in such conditions?"

Duo shrugged. "You get used to it."

Quatre made a face. "It's absolutely filthy. I don't know why anyone would create such an awful place. That's what my father was trying to protest; the killing of innocent people, especially of one religion. So we were arrested. I was sent here… I don't know where the rest of my family is. My mother is dead, but I also have several sisters… I'm worried about what happened to them… None of them were home when we were arrested, so I'm hoping they escaped so they don't have to come to a place like this. But I hope to find my father, and maybe we can get out of here and go home… My father talked about moving me to America. He says there that's where people are free and are never oppressed like this, in such a horrible place-."

"Don't you ever shut up?" Heero snapped, finally looking up from his leg, cutting off the young man's words. "You're not the only one with problems, you know. You think any of us want to be here? We think this place is Hell too. So why don't you stop playing victim and shut up, rich brat?"

The blond-haired teen stared at him in shock, his mouth hanging loosely open, his cerulean eyes wide with surprise. No one ever talked to him like that. And… even if Heero was right, it was still rude…

He hung his head, looking blankly down at the wooden slats beneath them. Tears prickled the corners of his eyes, his hands clenching weakly at his sides.

A gentle touch on his shoulder made him jump. It was Duo. "Come on. Let's all just be quiet and go to sleep. All right?" He gave Heero a pointed glance, then moved to let Quatre lay down.

Quatre looked up at Duo gratefully. Even if he didn't defend him from Heero's words, he at least didn't want the fighting to continue. He looked around for a spot before realizing that, unless he wanted to sleep on the end, and risk possible falling off, he was going to have to sleep next to Heero on one side or another, since he was in the middle. "M… Maybe… I should… should find another bunk," he said softly, barely above a whisper.

"No way," Duo replied. "You wouldn't find one. And I'm not letting someone like you wander away by yourself. You would get everything stolen from you, down to your clothes, and you'd be chosen in no time. You're staying with us. Heero, move over."

Heero blinked in surprise. Duo was telling him to move for the sake of the little blond prince? The spoiled rich-boy that would probably be dead tomorrow anyway? He glared at Duo. "No."

"Move, or I will move you myself," Duo ordered. He figured that probably would not be a good idea, resulting in a few bruises at best, being tossed off the bunk at worst, but it was obvious none of them would sleep with Heero and Quatre next to each other.

"You touch me, and I'll kill you," Heero growled.

Duo sighed angrily. "You are such a bastard at times, Heero. Come on. Move."

"No."

Duo sighed again. "I got you your shoes…"

Well, he had a point there. Even if he hadn't wanted Duo's hospitality, he had gotten it, and it had probably saved him from the misery of painful walking. With a grudging glare, he moved over to the edge of the bed.

"Thanks, Heero," Duo replied, giving Quatre a nudge next to Wufei, laying down between him and Heero. Quatre slowly lay down, but he knew he would never be able to sleep like this. No pillow, only two thin blankets that weren't very big at all. The sounds of other people around him were almost deafening, he realized, when he tried to close his eyes. He rolled over, then rolled over again, but every time he did, he still found an edge of a plank in the middle of his back. He rolled again with a soft sigh.

"You're keeping those of us who'd like to live awake," Heero snapped from the other side of Duo. "Stop moving, or I'll break your neck to make you stop."

Quatre froze in his spot shamefully, his pale cheeks bright red.

Duo gave Heero's leg a soft kick, which Heero ignored, before he gently pulled Quatre closer to him, holding him to his chest in a big-brother embrace. "You'll get used to it, Quatre. Just try to sleep."

Quatre nodded slowly, grateful for the warmth of Duo near him, Wufei on the other side, keeping him protected from cold. He slowly closed his eyes, trying to sleep. Tomorrow was another day. Maybe he'd wake up, and this would be all just a bad dream. Maybe.

Duo was up early the next morning, surveying his little group of bedmates as he brushed his hair back from his face. On his right was Heero, curled up with his arm under his head, the blankets down around his waist. On his left was Quatre, curled up in a ball, his blankets both pulled up to his chin, for warmth, comfort, or a bit of both, Duo wasn't sure. The boy looked too thin in his clothes, too delicate and fragile, like a crystal vase. And then there was Wufei. The Chinese boy was resting on his back, his hands folded neatly on his stomach, his eyes closed peacefully even as his brow wrinkled just a bit in… something… Concern, anger, hostility… It was anyone's guess.

But Quatre… What to do with Quatre? He was so weak, digging and building would break him quickly, and he wasn't cut out for sorting since he seemed rather inept to stealing… What to do with him? He needed to have a job, or he would be chosen immediately… What could he do?

Duo sighed and straightened his clothes, listening to the soft sounds other people were making around them. Snoring, coughing, talking, shuffling, rolling… Oi, it was just plain loud. He sighed and glanced down at Quatre again. The young man was traumatized, but what could they do? Heero hated him, Duo wanted to protect him, and Wufei… Well, he wasn't sure what Wufei felt about him, but whoever knew what Wufei felt anyway? He was in the middle playing mediator for everyone as well as playing mother, doctor, and overall caretaker. It was a damn hard job, and it was just going to get harder with Quatre around now.

A soft snort from his right made him look over. Heero blinked awake, staring straight out over the edge of the bunk, as if trying to figure out where he was before he sat up and turned to face Duo, flexing his shoulders in his version of a stretch, his dark blue eyes pegging him with his usual it's-morning-what-should-I-expect-today look.

Duo gave him a soft grin, stretching himself. He was sure he didn't hurt as much as Heero and Wufei did… "Good morning, sunshine. Sleep well?"

Heero gave Duo a dark glare. Duo made jokes in the morning. Heero hated jokes in the morning. "I slept well. After that little blond prince stopped moving around."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Leave him alone, Heero. You were new last week."

"He's a spoiled brat!" Heero retorted angrily. "He's not going to make it to tomorrow. Why should we waste our time with him?"

A sudden sniff cut off Duo's hot response back. Beneath the two blankets, Quatre's lean frame was shivering, muffled sobs coming from somewhere beneath them. Evidently, Quatre had not been asleep like they had thought. Duo gave Heero a rough shove of annoyance and leaned over the tiny teenager. "Quatre?"

"Go away." The blanket pulled tighter over the blond body.

"Hey, Quatre, look at me."

"No. You hate me."

"I don't hate you," Duo replied, slowly reaching out one thin hand to gently touch Quatre's shaking shoulder. "Please look at me."

There was a moment of hesitation before the tiny blond head peeked out from under the covers, scared, blue eyes finding Duo's own violet ones. Duo gave the young man a soft smile. "Hey. Listen, I don't hate you. None of us do." He ignored a sudden snort from Heero. "We're all afraid, and we're all stressed and tired. It's not you, all right?"

Quatre cast a glance over Duo's shoulder at Heero, who pegged him with a nasty glare. Quatre shivered and moved closer to Duo. "A… All right… I do not mean to cause any trouble."

"I know." Duo gave him a bright grin. "Well, let's wake up Wufei and start getting ready."

"I am awake," Wufei replied from near them, opening one black eye calmly.

"Geez, am I the only one who wakes up and looks like I'm awake?" Duo teased, giving Wufei a bright smile, holding Quatre gently to his chest, as it seemed the boy needed to be held. He was shaking like a leaf.

Wufei raised a slender, dark brow at the joke, then pulled his shirt over his head. Duo shrugged. Maybe Quatre would enjoy jokes in the morning. He'd have to test that theory. But now was time to get his troop ready for today.

"Quatre, you stick with me, all right? Heero and Wufei have their job assignments already, and so do I. I need to find something for you to do that won't overwork you."

Quatre whimpered softly and snuggled closer against him. "I… I'm not very strong," he said softly. "And I don't have any real skills…"

"I can understand that," Duo said softly, stroking the soft blond hair that had not yet become dirty from the camp. Quatre must have been taken directly to the camp, not through the train circuit. "Hey, Quatre, we have a little time… Can you tell me more about how you got here?"

Quatre nodded slowly. "We… we were at home… My father had been trying to arrange to send me to America. He… he wanted to speak out against Hitler… But he wanted my sisters and I to be safe. But… they suddenly came for us… My sisters were staying with my grandparents…"

Duo was vaguely aware that both Heero and Wufei were listening in hidden interest, Wufei so as not to be rude, Heero because of his pride. He held Quatre tighter.

"They… they grabbed my father… They dragged him away… And…. And the rest grabbed me…" Quatre's alto voice was trembling. "They… they dragged me out the door and into a truck… They blindfolded me and tied my hands up… And… the truck drove… It felt like forever… There was someone else with me… A guard… I asked him where my father was, and he… he…" Quatre was crying now. "He said I'd be joining him soon… I… I think they might have sent him here, to this place…"

Duo bit his tongue, looking up over Quatre's head to Wufei, a silent message beaming between them. Anyone who opposed the Nazi party nowadays was shot, not sent to the camps. Quatre was still a child, so perhaps they had figured he would be better off as a worker than dead. Quatre was alone now. However, he was sure Quatre thought he would still be reunited with his family.

"We… we drove for… I… I don't even know how long… It felt like days… They never gave me food or water… They…. They brought me here… And now I'm here with you. Do you think we will be able to find my father?" Blue eyes looked up hopefully at Duo. Duo bit his tongue again.

"Well, uh… There's thousands of people here, Quatre. The odds…"

Quatre snuggled closer against Duo sadly. "I… I miss my family."

"I know… We'll take care of you, Quatre." Duo stroked the soft hair gently. "We'll be your family, til… til you find your real one."

"Th… thanks."

"We should go now, kids," Duo said as he heard the sound of the lock being unbolted. "Quatre, you stick by me. We need to find you a job." He moved over to slide over the side of the bed as Heero and Wufei got down, then glanced up, waiting for Quatre. "Are you skilled in anything?"

Quatre glanced worriedly over the side of the bed, gazing down at the floor so far away. "I… I'm not sure…"

"Come on, let's go." Heero glanced up at Quatre impatiently.

Quatre swallowed, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, but his hands gripped the blankets tightly.

Duo sighed and moved to stand below him. "Come on, Quatre, jump. I'll catch you."

Heero rolled his eyes. "Can't he do anything for himself? Come on, Wufei. Let's not be late."

Quatre's face burned in shame, looking shyly at Duo. "Promise you'll catch me?"

"Promise. Come on. If we're late we'll be punished."

Quatre took a deep breath and slid over the side of the bed, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt himself drop for a moment before he felt slender but strong arms around him. He opened his eyes and looked shyly up at Duo. "Thank you."

"No problem. Come on, we gotta go." Duo set him down, grabbing his hand and pulling him through the crowd of people, followed close by Heero and Wufei. "So, do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Have any special skills?"

"N… Not really… I did well in school…"

"Can you build things? Sew?"

"I… I can cook," Quatre replied softly. "I used to help my sisters all the time at home."

"Great! That's perfect for you!" Duo shoved Quatre out the door, and the blond teen shivered as the sudden cold air rushed over him.

"Move it." Heero gave him a shove.

Quatre turned back to him, hurt in his eyes. "Why are you so mean to me?"

"Because I'd rather be concentrating on saving my own life than on saving a miserable brat like you."

Tears filled Quatre's eyes, and he stepped closer to Duo.

Duo gave Heero a slight glare. "You seem to forget we're all in the same boat here, Yuy. Now shut up, or I'll leave you on your own!"

Wufei abruptly interrupted the glaring match that ensued. "If we do not hurry, we are going to be punished."

Duo nodded and shooed all three of the boys in place like a fussy mother hen, situating himself between Quatre and Heero, putting Quatre in the front. "Now just stay still."

"You won't leave me, will you?" Quatre worried.

"Not now. We're going to have to be separated for work. I'll do my best to get you into the kitchen crew. You just have to trust me."

"Will I be able to go back to you?"

"Later this evening, when work is over," Duo promised. "We'll be lined back up, not in this group, but you should be all right. Then, once that's over, you can come back to our barracks, and we'll be together again."

"Unless you get killed first," Heero muttered darkly.

Quatre let out a terrified squeak. Duo was saved the trouble of turning around to smack him by Wufei who gave Heero a nasty glare. Quatre looked ready to bolt. Duo set his hands reassuringly on the boy's thin shoulders. "Hey, calm down. Quatre, do you trust me?"

"Y… Yes…" The boy's alto voice was no more than a whisper.

"Then relax. I will not let anything happen to you. Repeat. I will not."

Quatre nodded slowly, doing his best to relax his tense body. Duo's hands rubbed his shoulders for a moment until he was as relaxed as he could possibly be in the present situation, then left him to fall back to his sides. "Duo?"

"Shh. No talking in line."

"Oh. Sorry." Quatre faced forward again, resisting the urge to rub his eyes. He was so tired, so cold… So hungry… What did they eat here in camp? Surely it must be all right if all these people were still living. Especially Duo, who had been here for so long… He found himself imagining juicy slabs of beef, warm dumplings, sugary desserts… His mouth watered at the very thought of them.

Wind whipped over him, slapping him across the face, as if to snap him out of the warm reverie he had been in. He immediately felt cold again, and so hungry… How long had they been standing there? It felt like all day, but the sky was only beginning to change to gray, the stars only beginning to extinguish themselves like tiny candles. He stared at the wide, open sky for several minutes, watching the clouds billow and shimmer with a few hints of silver… He shivered again from cold, shifting his weight on his feet. His knees felt like they were on fire. How could anyone endure such torture?

A few stray birds winged their way across the sky, twisting and gliding as if they had not a care in the world, as if the giant billows of black smoke from the nearby chimney did not choke them, as if the long fence of barbed wire meant nothing. Free and happy, they coiled their way through the overhanging morning fog, chirruping their song so brightly…

For a moment, Quatre thought the birds had done an amazing loop-the-loop before he suddenly found his vision going white, and, before he even could acknowledge what was going on, found himself on the ground, amidst the dirt and stones.

Almost as quickly, a pair of arms swooped down on him, hauling him to his feet. Bony arms with wrists that looked like a child's…

Duo pulled the smaller boy up, nearly losing his own balance in the process. "You have to stay up, Quatre," he told him, holding him back against his warm chest in an effort to warm him and give him a moment to find his strength. "Those who fall do not often stand up again. Please. Stay up."

Quatre nodded miserably, finding his footing again, though his legs screamed for the relief that the collapse had brought. "Duo… I'm so hungry…"

"Not much longer now," Duo assured him. "Hey, you know what's so good about the kitchen crew? You get to eat all you want."

"Really?"

"Really." Duo's hands rested on Quatre's shoulders. Anything he could do to keep the blond alert and take his mind away from standing… "You don't get your bread ration, to make up for it, but you get to eat good stuff. Potatoes, and carrots…"

Quatre's stomach let out an embarrassing growl at the thought. "Mmm… I… I will bring some for you then. And Heero and Wufei."

"No!" Duo replied quickly. "Don't. They frisk you every time you leave that building. If you're caught with food, it's over, understand me? Don't you _ever_ sneak anything out of there! No matter what! I will _not_ have you die like that."

Quatre's bright blue eyes were wide with surprise at Duo's sudden frantic outburst. He nodded slowly, cuddling into Duo's arms worriedly. "I… I don't want to die."

"We're all in the same boat," Duo replied gently. "I'll do my best to watch over you. But you're going to have to watch over yourself too. All right?"

"A… All right," Quatre replied softly.

"Good. Now, can you stand up?"

"Y… Yes."

Duo smiled and set Quatre up on his feet. "Face front now. Shouldn't be too much longer before breakfast."

They stood still for how long was anyone's guess, and Quatre was starting to fall asleep standing up, blinking sleepily, swaying from foot to foot before the entire group of men straightened up as one, making Quatre jolt awake. "Wh… What's going on?"

"Shh." Duo gave him a poke. "Roll call. Just stay still."

Quatre did his best to obey Duo, holding still. A young woman with tight buns on either side of her head walked down the rows, counting off the groups, landing a sharp tap on the head of the front person. Quatre steeled himself for the blow he knew was coming, suppressing a whimper of pain when the baton landed on his own forehead.

After the counting was over, Quatre allowed himself a moment to rub at his forehead before Duo moved past him to scoop up a bowlful of breakfast, moving back to them. "You okay, Quatre?"

"Yeah… I think so…"

"Good." Duo handed the bowl to Heero who took a few swallows before handing it behind him to Wufei who followed suit. Duo took the bowl, wiping the edge on the hem of his shirt before holding it out to Quatre. "Here, you drink first."

Quatre shivered. He could smell it from here, and it stank worse than anything he had ever smelt before. He lifted the bowl to his lips, keeping his eyes on Duo's a moment before opening his mouth and taking in a mouthful.

He barely managed to swallow before he dropped to his knees and threw up, tears falling from his eyes as he coughed and retched again, heaving up everything that had been in his stomach.

Duo sighed, retrieving his bowl from the dusty ground before rubbing Quatre's back gently with one hand. "Shh. Okay now?"

Quatre looked up at him through bleary, red-rimmed eyes. "That's disgusting…"

"I know… Well, you don't have to swallow anymore of it, cause it's all gone," Duo replied with his best attempt at a smile.

Quatre instantly looked remorseful. "Oh, Duo, I'm sorry… I spilled your soup too…"

"Hey, no worries, all right? Looks like we get coffee this morning. I'll get some of that, and we'll be just fine, all right?"

Quatre nodded weakly, rubbing at his mouth. Duo smiled softly at him before getting up and heading over to the huge cauldron that was already surrounded by several dozen men, all vying for positions around it.

Heero rolled his eyes at the blond on the ground while Wufei simply remained stone-faced. Quatre scrambled to his feet, brushing dirt from his hands and knees. He didn't look at either of the others as he moved back into place in line.

Duo returned with a bowl of black sludge that Quatre assumed was coffee. Duo held the bowl this time, letting Quatre take a few sips. It was absolutely awful, but Quatre forced himself to swallow, making sure he left more than enough for Duo, since he had spilled the soup before. Duo smiled before taking a drink himself.

It seemed the harsh, straight lines had dissipated just a bit as people ate under the watchful eyes of the guards, and Quatre found his eyes roaming the crowd. So many men, so many lives… How many of them were political prisoners like him? And how many of them were Jews who had been snatched from their homes and sent here without so much as a backward glance? So many men… All blended into one in this mass of thousands…

Suddenly someone caught his eye. Quatre blinked and stared, mesmerized by the young man. A taller youth, probably about the same age as them, with brilliant, green eyes, and long, chestnut hair. Quatre wondered why that boy, among all the young men had caught his eye, but he could not look away. There was just something about him… Something that made Quatre want to talk to him, to spend time with him… That was silly… But yet the boy still drew his attention…

"Duo?" he asked softly. "Who is that boy?"

Duo glanced over his shoulder, lowering his bowl, then shrugged. "Dunno. There's way too many people in this camp to know everyone."

"Oh…"

Wufei's eyes followed Quatre's over to the green-eyed youth, then blinked. The boy from before… He had not seen him in over a week now, since the first time they had talked, for his _Kommando_ had been transferred over to a new digging unit.  "His name is Trowa Barton. He is a gypsy."

"Trowa… Barton…" Quatre mused over that for a moment before giving Wufei a thank-you smile. "I… I would like to talk to him."

Wufei raised a brow. "He is no longer working with us. I do not know how to arrange that."

"Silly. You go over and talk to him." Duo suddenly turned, shoving his bowl into Heero's hands, and bounded away after casting a wary glance at the guards.

Heero blinked, then rolled his eyes.

The young man looked up as the braided teenager approached him. "Oui?" he asked, regarding Duo closely.

Duo stopped short, hesitating, before smiling sweetly, saying in nearly perfect French, "Mon nom est Duo. Et vous?"

"Trowa Barton." The young man smiled softly at the violet-eyed boy. "Vous parlez français admirablement."

Duo blinked and smiled brightly before dropping his voice down low, continuing in German now, "I'm afraid I don't know anymore than what I just said. Do you understand German?"

Trowa seemed to hesitate over the words for a moment before nodding slowly. "Ja… A little…"

Duo grinned brightly, then continued on. "Listen… My friends over there were wondering… Would you like to switch barracks so you can stay with us? We'd love to have you in our little group…"

Trowa blinked in surprise at the offer, glancing over at where Heero, Wufei, and Quatre all stood, regarding him silently. "I… I would like… We seem be about same age… But is really that easy for change?"

Duo nodded. "Just find someone willing to switch with you."

Trowa hesitated, glancing back at them again, then nodded. "All right. I see I can do."

Duo grinned. "Great! See ya later, hopefully." He gave Trowa his signature bright smile, then turned and trotted back over to his little contingent of teenagers.

"What did he say?" Quatre asked eagerly as Duo hurried back to them.

"Well, from what I can understand of him, he would like to join our group. So, we need to find someone willing to switch with him."

"That would be wonderful!" Quatre replied eagerly. "Do you think he could really join us?"

"If we can find someone willing to switch blocks with him…"

"Is that easy to do?" Wufei questioned as he took a sip of coffee from Duo's proffered bowl.

"Depends… Since it's just one person, should be pretty easy. I'll see what I can do."

"Duo, you don't have to do that," Heero replied, his voice low and flat. "You've already done so much for us."

Duo shook his head slowly. "Hey, don't worry about it, Heero. I said I would, and I don't go back on a promise."

Quatre smiled brightly, thankfully. "You're so wonderful, Duo."

Duo laughed softly, twitching his braid over his shoulder. "Well, I try."

Even Heero smiled at that comment before Duo fussed them all back into line again. "Okay, fun's over. Back in line, children."

Quatre faced forward again, feeling much more cheerful at the prospect of having another teenager with them, one that perhaps might like him.

Well, the day hadn't been as bad as he had counted on. Quatre spent the entire day peeling carrots and potatoes, but whenever he was feeling hungry, he could eat one, and no one said a word. Many people were eating more than he was. And he could sit down, rather than standing up the whole day. It got really hot inside the building, with its low roof and smoky fires, but not nearly as hot as it was outside. Duo was right. It was a good job. If only they could all be together, that would be so much better. Lunchtime came, and they got soup, and some of the people left to carry the huge tureen of soup to the other people in the camp. But the end of the day, Quatre was tired but feeling better, barely noticing when they were frisked and shoved into line to be counted before they were allowed to go wander back to their barracks.

Duo was back already in their bunk when Quatre slid inside, looking around in hopes of finding someone he knew. He smiled down at the blond teenager. "Welcome back. How was work?"

"Not bad at all," Quatre replied, stepping up onto the bottom bunk, pulling himself up as Duo grabbed his hand to pull him the rest of the way. "Thank you, Duo, for setting me up with it."

Duo grinned. "No problem. Did anyone give you any trouble?"

Quatre shook his head. "No."

"Good. There's some nasty people who work in the kitchen, but if you just ignore- Hey, there's Wufei and Heero." Duo lay on his back, letting his head with his long braid drape over the end of the bunk like a rope, giving them an upside-down smile. "Welcome back, guys."

The two barely acknowledged the braided teen's attempt at humor, clambering up onto the bunk and collapsing without a word. Quatre moved out of their way, glancing worriedly at Duo. 'Are they okay?' he mouthed.

Duo sat up and nodded slowly. "Hey, guys. You two need anything?"

Two dark heads shook no, but otherwise, nothing moved. Duo sighed and moved to sit down next to them. "Overworked again?"

Wufei nodded while Heero groaned in response. Duo sighed softly. It was so cold in the morning even though it was only April, and then it grew to the eighties at the hottest point in the afternoon, which made outdoors work nearly impossible. And in the summer it would only get worse, which could lead to a breakdown from one or both of them, Duo worried. One could only work so long at such torture, and the last thing he wanted to do was lose his little group. They were his family now, and he wanted to protect them, the way his family had protected him not so long ago. "Just rest, you two. I'll get dinner when it comes."

"Thank you," Wufei replied softly.

Duo nodded. "No prob. But while you're resting, I'm gonna go look for someone willing to switch with that French gypsy."

Quatre smiled, watching as Duo slid off the bunk, then lay down next to Wufei, sighing softly. He was silent for a moment before slowly sitting up to look at them. "Wufei? Heero?"

There was no answer, but Quatre was sure they were listening. "I… I'm sorry I was such a brat yesterday and today… I… I was scared, and… I know I'm spoiled… I'll try not to complain anymore…"

It was silent for a minute, and Quatre was worried they weren't going to respond before two pairs of eyes opened to look at him. Heero gave him a nasty glare and closed his eyes again. Quatre swallowed hard, glancing at Wufei. "Get some sleep, Quatre," the Oriental teen replied softly, as if Quatre had not said anything. "You're going to need to keep up your strength."

"Oh." Quatre nodded and slowly lay back down.

By the next morning, Duo had indeed followed through on his promise and had found a young Polish man willing to switch places with Trowa so he could be near his ailing grandfather. So, by the end of the week, Trowa was able to move into Barrack 19 to join their group, arriving just after dinner had ended.

Duo grinned and scooted over as the lanky teenager clambered up onto their bunk as nimbly as a monkey, sitting in front of them with his legs crossed primly underneath him. "Bonjour," he replied, surveying each of the teenagers separately in turn. "Je suis Trowa Barton." He paused, looking for any sign of comprehension. "Est-ce que n'importe qui comprend le français?"

Duo blinked, then grinned softly and shook his head. "We're all Germans here, Tro. Think you can understand most of what we say?"

Trowa hesitated, then nodded slowly. "I… think yes. If speak slow you."

Duo nodded slowly. "We can do that." He put a hand lightly on Quatre's shoulder. "This is Quatre. He's the reason you're here with us."

Trowa smiled, bowing his head slightly at Quatre. Quatre smiled brightly back.

"And this is Wufei. And that is Heero," Duo replied, pointing to each boy in turn.

"I am please to meet," Trowa replied, giving them a soft smile before suddenly turning away and coughing painfully. Duo's smile faded, sitting up just a bit straighter. Shit…

No one else seemed very worried, so Duo quickly pushed the thought aside. Later would be better. "All right, all right, I think we all need to get to bed now," he said, motioning for Trowa to lay down on the blanket. "Can't have everyone exhausted in the morning."

Everyone consented and lay down as Duo instructed, blankets going over atrophied bodies to protect again the night's chill.

Duo lay on his side, gazing over the four people lying next to him. Quatre. Trowa. Heero. Wufei. His friends, his family. They were all he had now. He cared about them so much, even Trowa as the newest addition. He would give his life for any of them, he knew. They were his life, and they would all get out of this together. With that thought, he lay back against the hard wood and closed his violet eyes. Tomorrow was another day, after all.

_(Well, that's all to this chapter. Please review, and I will thank you next chapter. I don't mind criticism if it's constructive. Thank you for reading!)_


	3. Designed to Survive

_Author's Notes:_ I updated! Woot! Well, this chapter is incredibly long, so hopefully you all can forgive me. Several people have asked me how much research I had to do for this story. I've been a big fan of Holocaust stories since I was young, and I've read quite a few survivor stories, like Eli Weisel, Corrie ten Boom, and Livia Bitton-Jackson. I also did a lot of research on Anne Frank a while back. And I've been looking up concentration camps online for a long time, and reading books on them. So, quite a lot of research over a long period of time. And I'm learning something new every day I write this, usually that conflicts with what I've written, so I'm taking a lot of liberties. If you want any of the cool websites I've been using for research, email me.

_Thank You Time:_ Special thanks to my friends Jane and Holly for helping me write the conversation between Trowa and Quatre about human nature. Thanks to my wonderful friends, K-chan and Pi-chan, for letting me bounce ideas off them. Thanks to my bestest friend, Little Vixen, for helping me with ideas and being there for me to discuss with.

Lionheart (No, it's Zechs), Wolfgirl333 (Read on and find out), Burning tree, Reliak (I know;)), Kinkosami (Quatre will become stronger, you'll see, no, that's not all the yaoi, read this chapter to see, and yes, read on to see about Trowa), Misanagi (Read on, I think you'll like Quatre a bit more now, and thank you for commenting about him speaking French. I ended up using that. Eternal appreciation:)), Lothur, Kerwin (When did Duo become British? "Little buggers"?:)), Shuichi-san (See above note), Shinigami's Forlorn Angel (Again, see above), Lionheart again, Ember Elidd (Love ya, babe), Ichigo-nuclear, Dream (I do my own, but I'll keep it in mind. Thanks), and Jennilyn Maxwell (Aww, you're sweet). Thank you to everyone who reviewed for me. Please review my chapters! I'll love you forever! I'm a review whore. Peace, all!

Warnings: mild yaoi starting, language, violence, anti-religious statements, death of main characters eventually

The first morning that Quatre woke up next to Trowa was wonderful. He snuggled closer to the gypsy boy, closing his eyes again, hoping to gain a few more minutes of sleep before they had to get up.

Next to him, on his other side, Duo was warm and curled up in a sort of ball. Quatre smiled softly. Duo and Trowa were so wonderful.

The door suddenly unlocked, and the guards slammed them open, yelling insults as usual to wake them up. On the far end of the bunk, Heero and Wufei were waking up, and he could feel Duo shifting next to him. Quatre groaned and nudged Trowa next to him. "Trowa. Wake up."

Trowa stirred, blinking his emerald eyes open. They flickered all over for a moment, as if trying to figure out where he was. His eyes lighted on Quatre's face, and he smiled softly. "_Bonjour_."

"_Bonjour_," Quatre echoed back, giving him a cheery, if not sleepy, smile. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, reverting back to German.

Trowa nodded slowly. "_Ja_. I do."

Quatre giggled softly. "Where are you assigned to work?"

"I work building and fix build."

"Build and fix buildings?" Quatre corrected gently.

"Ah, yes. Build and buildings fix."

Quatre laughed softly and hugged him close. "I see."

Trowa nodded and hugged him back softly before sitting up slowly. As soon as he was up, he turned away from Quatre and coughed painfully, a hoarse, early-morning, congested cough. "Are you all right?" Quatre asked concernedly, reaching out to pat his back gently.

"Yes, thank you. I be all right soon." He coughed again, then turned back to Quatre. "Forgive me."

"Quite all right," Quatre replied. He gave Trowa a friendly smile. "I work in the kitchen myself."

"It is nice?"

"Yes, very nice."

"All right, enough gabbing," Duo replied on his other side, giving Quatre a playful poke in the ribs. "'Tis breakfast time, and I could eat a horse, indeed I could," he said, employing a funny voice to try to cheer them all up.

Quatre and Trowa laughed together while Heero and Wufei merely glared impatiently. "Can we go now?" Heero demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes yes yes," Duo replied teasingly. "Let's go to breakfast." He slid over and dropped off the edge of the bunk with practiced ease.

Quatre smiled softly at Trowa. "Go ahead."

"Thank you." Trowa moved to the end of the bunk rather than the side and climbed down quickly. Quatre crawled to the edge, peering down at him. Trowa smiled back up at him. "Come with me."

Quatre hesitantly turned around and stepped down onto the first slat, holding tightly to the top one. A moment later he felt strong, gentle hands on the back of his legs.

"Up," Trowa commanded gently.

Quatre blinked in surprise, having to think about the backwards order for a moment, but he followed Trowa's lead and stepped down to the next slat. The hands supported him, moving to his hips to hold him steady. The last step down, he caught Quatre's hand. Quatre landed on the ground, turning around to smile gratefully at Trowa. "Thank you."

Trowa smiled back, his emerald eyes shining just a bit. "Pleasure mine. Hurry we should. Heero give us bad look."

Quatre glanced over Trowa's shoulder to see that indeed, Heero was glaring impatiently at them. He wanted to stick out his tongue, but that would be rude and childish of him, so he didn't. He took Trowa's hand and steered him towards the door, struggling through the people to avoid being trampled before he found Duo and tugged Trowa to his side. Duo gave them a gentle smile. "Stay by me. Don't get separated."

Quatre had a feeling Trowa wasn't going anywhere, considering how firmly he was attached to the blond's slender arm. He smiled gently up at Trowa. Trowa smiled back at him as they stepped outside into the cool morning air. The coldness whipped over them as if the thin cotton clothing they wore were nothing at all. He shivered and stepped closer to Trowa's warm body. Their breath lingered in the coldness in foggy puffs.

Duo steered them into their usual line, pulling Trowa off of Quatre. "You're the tallest, so you have to stand at the back, Trowa."

Quatre whimpered, trying to catch Trowa's hand. "Trowa…"

"Quatre, he'll be right behind us. You have to stand at the front. You're the shortest."

Quatre sighed and moved to the front of the line, casting a longing glance back at the gypsy boy who was moving obediently where Duo steered him. Once he was in place, Duo slid into his spot behind Quatre, giving the blond boy a reassuring smile. "Hey. He'll be just fine, Quatre. You know that."

"Duo… I want to be with him."

"He'll be back tonight. You can be with him then. You really like him, don't you?" Duo asked, leaning forward to whisper in Quatre's ear.

"Yes, ever so much. And I have you to thank for it, Duo."

"Hey, it was no problem." Duo flashed his usual bright, silly grin. "You take care of him, all right?"

"I will." Quatre shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. He was cold, so cold in only his prison uniform. "Can we go back and get a blanket?"

"No blankets allowed," Duo replied with a shake of his head that sent his bangs shivering. "Don't ever take your blanket with you. I've seen three young men attacked by guard dogs til they died because they brought their blankets."

Quatre shuddered, feeling colder than ever. He rubbed his arms, trying to create some friction to warm them. Duo's hands landed on his arms, rubbing them as well, trying to make him warmer. He smiled at him shyly in return before facing forward again.

Work had been just fine that day, but Quatre was eager to get off of work and get back to Trowa. The few days the gypsy boy had been with them had been the happiest he had had since he came to the camp. They would sit and chat back and forth, alternating French and German, talking about their families, where they came from, things they liked to do… Trowa was a very interesting person to get to know, Quatre had discovered. He could sing quite well, and Quatre made him teach him songs in Romani.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts as he sliced carrots for dinner that he almost didn't notice a young woman enter the squat building that was the kitchen. "Prisoner P133824, front and center!"

That sounded like his number. Quatre had to glance down at the tattoo on his right arm to confirm that before he quickly set down the knife he was chopping with, leaping to his feet and racing over to the door, standing straight in front of the dark-haired woman with shady, purple eyes. The badge on her chest read 'Lieutenant Noin'.

She glanced him over with an unreadable expression before pivoting sharply on her shiny, black heel. "Come with me."

Where were they going? Quatre wondered, aware that everyone in the kitchen was watching him and probably debating the same thing. He followed Noin outside, blinking against the sunlight that hit him squarely in the face. It was only April, and the sun was blindingly hot during the afternoon. He followed her across the camp. They were headed towards the exit, but they were also heading towards where the tall, brick chimney that belched black smoke towards the haze-colored sky. He felt his legs starting to shake as he trailed after her, trying to calm himself down. What had he done that would make them want to punish him? He couldn't think of anything.

But they passed right by the chimney and the surrounding buildings, heading on towards the office buildings that stood near the gates of camp. Noin stopped outside one of them, a single level, lengthy, official-looking building, rather simple but well built. "Colonel Treize wants to see you."

Quatre stared at Noin in shock for a moment. He had heard that name before, from Duo. Colonel Treize was the leader of the camp, wasn't he? The eyes and ears of all of Auschwitz? Why in the world did Treize want to see him?

Noin led him inside the long structure, stopping in front of the first door there. She knocked on it, waiting. From somewhere inside, a voice responded, "Come in." The voice was deep and cultured. Quatre swallowed hard as Noin pushed the door open, stepping aside to let him in. He slowly slipped inside, standing just inside the doorway. Noin closed the door behind her, leaving Quatre alone in the office, save for the young officer sitting at the desk facing the door. Quatre's eyes landed on him, studying him.

The young man was dressed in fine clothing, honey blond hair perfectly set against his head. His face was clean-shaven and trustworthy-looking. When he looked up at him, Quatre could see that his eyes were the clear blue of a summer's day.

"Sit down," he offered, gesturing with one white-gloved hand to a soft chair nearby.

"Yes sir." Quatre's eyes drifted over the room he hadn't really looked at before as he sat down primly on the edge of the chair, his hands clenching into the knees of his uniform. The room was made mostly of wood, mahogany or something equally rich looking, from the quick glance he gave it. The furniture scattered around was plush, looking very much like cherry wood, with maroon coverings. There were several paintings on the wall, most by Italian artists. The room was aglow with rosy lamplight from one lamp on the desk and a few scattered lamps on the wall. Bookshelves lined the sidewalls, filled with heavy-looking books. Overall, the room had a sort of rich feel to it.

Treize smiled softly at Quatre as the boy's eyes turned back to him. "Would you care for something? Something to eat, perhaps?"

"May I?" Quatre asked in surprise, hope brimming in his voice.

"Of course. What would you like?" He picked up the phone on his desk, gazing at him expectantly. At Quatre's hesitation, he smiled again. "I'll just have a bit of everything brought here for you." He spoke into the phone for a moment before setting it down and turning back to him. "Was that all right with you?"

Wide-eyed, Quatre nodded. "Yes sir."

Laughter burst from Treize's throat, a deep, carefree laugh, and he shook his blond head slowly. "You don't need to call me 'sir', Herr Winner."

Quatre blinked at the sudden name that until now he had only associated with his father. "Yes s-… I mean, yes. And… you don't have to call me Herr. Quatre is fine."

"Very well. I will call you Quatre, and you will call me Treize. Fair?"

Quatre looked mortified at calling an officer by his first name, but he nodded slowly. "Yes si- Treize."

"I suppose you're curious as to why I called you here."

"Yes, I… I am. The officer who brought me here didn't tell me anything."

"Because she doesn't know," Treize replied. "No one here does, save for me. Because what I'm asking is a personal matter."

"A… a personal matter?" Quatre asked softly. What could be a personal matter for a commanding officer? Or perhaps it was a personal matter with him that needed to be addressed. "A… Am I in trouble, sir?"

Treize laughed again, shaking his head. "No, Quatre, you're not in trouble. If you were, I would not address it to you in such a manner."

Quatre was finding it very easy to like this young man. He seemed genuinely nice and very polite, refined like a diamond among all the rough of the camp. "Good… I couldn't think of anything I had done…"

"No, you've done nothing wrong," Treize replied again with a soft smile. A knock at the door interrupted his next sentence. The door swung open, allowing in a portly cook with a cart full of food. He left it in front of Quatre, then left the room without a word.

"Please," Treize said, indicating the plates brimming with hot food of every assortment.

Aggravated hunger won over Quatre's will to be polite. Everything smelled so good. Hot soup, doughy dumplings, warm sausage, frosted cake, tall glasses of milk… He picked up a spoon and took a long, hot sip of soup. The buttery warmth covered his tongue and sent his senses whirling. He hadn't tasted anything so good in… weeks now. Had it really been that long?

Treize watched with a sort of fascination as Quatre spooned hot broth into his mouth before he reached for a bottle, pulling the top off. "Here. Champagne. Join me?"

Quatre looked up concernedly as Treize poured two glasses. "I'm not old enough."

Treize's laughter echoed off the walls at that, handing him the glass. "I won't tell anyone. Please."

Quatre swallowed hard and lifted the glass to his lips. He took a swallow, wincing as the alcohol burned down his throat. But the afterglow wasn't so bad.

Treize smiled, then sipped his own sedately. "Now, as to why I called you here."

Quatre nodded and set down his fork, but at a wave from Treize, picked it back up again. He took a bite of warm German sausage as Treize began.

"I have actually been watching you for some time now, Quatre."

"Watching me?" Quatre asked with his mouth full before he blushed and swallowed quickly.

"Yes, watching you. You see, I have developed quite an interest in you."

The next bite of sausage paused halfway to Quatre's mouth. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" A large, soft hand reached out across the desk and clasped his chin affectionately. "I've developed an interest in you."

It took a moment for that to sink in before Quatre's eyes went wide, and he yanked away, dropping the fork, nearly falling off his chair, squeaking in surprise. Treize watched him with something like amusement, letting go of the teenager's chin as he pulled away.

"No!" Quatre nearly yelled, surprised at the strength in his own voice. "No! I will not do such a thing!"

Treize raised a well-groomed brow. "Are you sure about that, Quatre? Think about it. I could take you out of the squalor you're living in now. You could have warm clothes and good food for the rest of your life."

Quatre shrank back against the chair, his cerulean eyes wide and scared. Colonel Treize Khushrenada was asking him to… to… service him? "Aren't… aren't you sending people to this horrible place because they… like… men?" His voice faded into no more than a whisper. Duo had told him about that.

Treize nodded slowly. "We are, but that does not mean that I cannot have what _I_ want."

Quatre shook his head emphatically. "No! I won't do it!"

"You seem to be forgetting, Quatre, that I have your life in my hands at this very moment. A word from me, and you and everything you hold dear could be snuffed out."

"Are you threatening me?" Quatre demanded, his eyes flashing with the tiniest hint of anger.

"Yes," Treize replied, complete serenity on his face.

Quatre glared darkly at him, a look that seldom crossed his face. "I will never give myself to you like that."

"Never is such a strong word, Quatre. And it doesn't really matter whether or not you agree. I will have you, with or without your consent."

Quatre's eyes went wider still. "You'd rape me?"

"I would. Which is why I'm hoping you'll agree to this arrangement."

"What arrangement?" Quatre asked softly, his voice barely audible. He unknowingly pulled his knees to his chest on the chair, wrapping his arms protectively around them.

"You give me what I want, cooperate with me, and I will give you things in return. Food, nice clothing, hot showers. A warm bed away from the lice and disease and filth."

Quatre swallowed hard. His skin felt alive with grime, and a hot shower sounded so nice… And the warm food next to him still smelled so inviting.

"Think about it, Quatre. A chance to live the life you've grown up with. Riches, warmth, comfort. That could all be yours again, instead of forcing you into the life of the lowliest slave. Isn't that what you want?"

Quatre cringed, lowering his eyes to his knees, realizing now that he clutched them so tightly to his chest. "I… I don't… I don't know…"

"Look in your heart, little one. You want the luxury you grew up with. I can give that to you."

Quatre shook his head slowly. "No… I won't…"

Treize smiled, sitting back in his chair. "What about your friends, Quatre? Those four boys you're always with. You could help them. Bring them food and blankets. Keep them from being harmed."

Quatre took a deep, shuddery breath. He could protect his friends. But… It would require him to give up the little he had left. After his purity, he had nothing left that was his own anymore. "I… I don't know…"

Treize nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can think about it all you want, Quatre. I am a patient man. But I will have you eventually. It's you choice whether or not you're paid for it."

Quatre sank down in his chair, feeling sick to his stomach. Paid for his services like a common whore. Raped or treated as a prostitute. Neither was an appealing offer. "I'll think about it."

Treize nodded again. "That is acceptable."

Appetite lost, Quatre stared numbly at the food next to him. How could he do such a thing? How could he let Treize treat him like this? But he had no choice. Treize knew what he wanted, and he was willing to do anything for it.

Treize picked up the champagne glass in front of him that he had drunk from before, swirling the pale liquid around, studying it with interest. "If you are finished, Quatre, you are free to leave." He glanced up at him with icy blue eyes. "My door is always open, whenever you're ready. And you will come to me. I know you will."

Quatre lowered his head shamefully. "I won't."

Treize smiled softly at him. "We'll see, little one."

Quatre pushed himself quickly out of his seat, backpedaling towards the door. He yanked it open as quickly as he could and almost ran right into a tall soldier with long, blond hair.

"Ah, Lieutenant Merquise. Perfect timing. Will you please escort Herr Winner here back to his barrack? Make sure he gets back safely?"

The soldier nodded, taking Quatre's arm gently but firmly in his own. "Yes sir. Come with me," he said, giving Quatre a gentle pull.

Quatre stumbled out of the office on shaky legs, following after the man, his mind reeling. What was he supposed to do? He didn't want any of this, but he didn't seem to have a choice.

"Which barrack are you in?" the lieutenant asked, glancing down at him. His voice was deep but kind.

"Nineteen," Quatre replied softly. The man nodded, turning his eyes forward again.

They walked in silence back through the camp, Quatre using the man's light grip on his arm to keep himself up. He suddenly felt so tired for some reason. Lieutenant Merquise led him back through the camp the way Noin had before but led him back to the barracks, past the kitchen. He pushed the door open and escorted Quatre inside. "All right?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you," Quatre replied softly, nodding at the lieutenant. The man nodded back, giving him the barest shadow of a smile before turning and exiting, leaving Quatre all alone in the barracks. They had been cleaned earlier during the day and now stood silent and empty. Feeling more alone than he had in a long time, Quatre pulled himself up onto his bunk, laying down there, pulling a few of their blankets over him. More than anything he wanted the others there with him. He wasn't all that hungry, but they wouldn't be back until after dinner was over. His mind felt full, and he felt a headache setting in right behind his eyes.

He must have drifted off, because he woke up when Duo came clambering up onto the bunk next to him with a concerned look. "Hey. What are you doing here this early?"

Quatre gazed up at Duo, blinking to clear his eyes and his head. "Oh… I…" He couldn't tell Duo about Treize. Duo would be mad, or so he reasoned. And he was too ashamed. No one could know about the horrible thing Treize wanted from him. "I wasn't feeling too well, so I came back here."

Duo looked skeptical, but he nodded. "How was work otherwise?"

Glad that Duo did not press the issue, Quatre smiled softly, sitting up. "Fine. I still wish I could bring some carrots back for all of you."

"Hey, we're living." Duo gave him a mischievous grin. "I got something for ya."

"What?" Quatre asked eagerly, leaning closer to Duo.

Duo reached down to the cuffs of his pants, reaching inside them and pulling out two rectangle bars, both wrapped in shiny silver paper, each no bigger than four inches in length. "Chocolate. Feeling well enough to eat it?"

"Duo!" Quatre gasped in surprise. "How did you…?"

"You'll have to share this one with Trowa, I'm afraid. This one is for Heero and Wufei."

"But… what about you?"

"Hey, don't worry about me."

"But Duo-."

"Quatre, I got them for you guys." Duo pressed the bar into Quatre's palm. "I insist. Hey, there's Heero and Wufei!"

Quatre didn't have any reply, slipping the chocolate into his own rolled up cuffs.

Heero and Wufei climbed up to the bunk, both looking extremely depressed and disgusted.

"Something wrong, guys?" Duo asked concernedly.

Both were silent for a moment before Wufei finally answered, "We had to help burn bodies today."

"Oh… I see," Duo said softly, his voice filled with both sympathy and complete understanding.

"They're filling them up as fast as we can dig them," Heero added darkly. "They said we worked too slow, so we had to help them cover the bodies and burn them."

Duo shuddered. "Nasty."

"Yes." They were all silent for a long moment before Duo pulled them aside to cheer them up with chocolate. Quatre lay at the end of the bunk on his stomach, trying not to think about what Wufei and Heero had just said, waiting for Trowa to return. Minutes passed, and Quatre began to worry. Had Trowa been hurt? Or worse?

Just as he was about to get the courage to ask Duo to go look for him, Trowa walked in, looking pale and drawn. Quatre was off the bunk in record time, racing over to him. "Trowa, are you all right?"

"Yes." Trowa gave him a weak, awkward smile. "I be all right."

"Good." Quatre caught his hand and pulled him over to the bunk, climbing up and waiting for him there.

Trowa climbed up a bit slower than usual, sitting down delicately on the end of the bed. "Forgive me for early be."

"You're not early," Duo replied with a bright grin. "You're not even on time. You're late."

Trowa blushed just a bit, nodding at his mistake. "Yes. Forgive me for late."

Duo shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He moved a bit closer to Trowa, studying his face. Trowa looked paler than usual, and Duo could barely smell the lingering scent of bile on the gypsy's breath. He had been ill. "Do you need anything?"

"No. Thank you."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I am sure. Thank you ask for."

Duo nodded slowly. If Trowa would not tell him what was wrong, he couldn't help.

"Trowa, look!" Quatre gushed, pulling out the chocolate bar from his sleeve cuff. "For you and me!"

Trowa smiled softly at the bouncy blond. "Yes?"

"Yes." Quatre pulled off the silver paper and broke the milky brown bar in half, handing one of the pieces over to Trowa. The French gypsy smiled again and took the chocolate, taking a small bite.

Quatre hesitated, gazing down at the tiny bit of chocolate in his own palm, then broke it in half again, holding it out to Duo. "Here."

"I told you, don't worry about me," Duo replied, staring in surprise at the proffered treat.

"Take it," Quatre insisted. "I won't eat mine if you won't take it."

Duo wavered for a moment before he took the sweet morsel. "Thanks, pal. You're the greatest."

Quatre blushed, sticking the fragment of chocolate in his mouth. "Mmm…"

Duo smiled at him, letting the chocolate bit sit on his tongue and slowly melt there. Quatre was so sweet. Sweeter than chocolate ever could be. And that care he felt for those he loved, he was sure, would be his greatest weakness.

April 1944 passed as sluggish as the undulating heat that scorched the dry grounds of Auschwitz. May took its time in coming, and, when it did, it brought dusty winds, infernal heat, and unpredictable rain. The roof leaked, which concerned Duo for Trowa's already serious cough as the dampness seemed to soak into clothing, blankets, hair, skin, and wood. Everything felt saturated, and Duo reflected on this as he curled against Quatre's slumbering form one night in mid-May. He was so tired; all he wanted to do now was sleep and forget where he was. Darkness surrounded him in its warm envelope, easing his troubled mind with calming fingers.

He was almost asleep when the door suddenly banged open, and five men stepped inside, flashlights glowing like spotlights. "Everyone! Up! Now! _Schnell_!"

Everyone sat up hastily, eyes wide and scared. 'Shit,' Duo thought. Selection… He glanced worriedly over his group, checking for immediate things that could potentially hurt his group. Heero and Wufei seemed fine, but Trowa and Quatre…

"Come on, off the bunk, stand in front of it," Duo ordered them through clenched teeth over the resounding sounds of the inmates all doing the same. "Stay quiet, eyes down. Now!" No one needed to be told twice. In an instant, everyone was on the ground, standing straight, eyes on the floor. Trowa and Quatre gripped hands, hidden behind Duo.

"All of you will strip and form a single file line. You will file past us. If your number is written down, you will drop your clothing here and move to the left. Anyone who does not obey will be shot."

"Duo," Quatre whimpered softly.

"Shh. Do what they say." Duo reached for his shirt. "Trowa, not a cough from you, you hear me? Not a single one! Do you understand?"

Trowa nodded slowly, his emerald eyes wide and scared.

"And Quatre… Stand up straight…" Duo's violet eyes were worried. "Um…"

"You're not looking encouraging, Duo," Quatre replied, his voice higher than normal and extremely strained.

"I'm sorry… Just… be respectful. You know how to do that. Just look as strong and alert as you can. And let go of Trowa."

Their hands slowly separated like two sticky caramels. Duo watched them silently. They cared about each other so much… If one of them died, the other… He didn't want to think about that.

The line began to form, and Duo shoved Heero and Wufei into line ahead of him, then moved Trowa and Quatre behind him. "Everyone just stay calm, understand? If you get chosen, I can't save you."

Quatre shivered slightly. "Duo…"

"Hey." Duo glanced back over one pale, bare shoulder. "Would I let anything happen to you?"

"N… No…"

"Then just trust me, all right? Stop acting like a scared rabbit."

"'K… 'Kay…"

Duo smiled gently. "Hey. I love you."

Quatre smiled weakly back. "I love you too," he replied. It felt so good to hear those words. Nothing romantic, just undying friendship heralded Duo's words, the deepest friendship he had ever felt, a friendship with no end, only the same timeless, boundless love. It made him feel so good.

A sudden cough by him made Quatre start, and he shifted to glance at Trowa who had turned his head to the side, coughing hoarsely. It was only then that it struck him how pale Trowa was. And… now that he really got a good look at him… He noticed Trowa stood slightly bent at the waist, as if he had a pain deep inside of him. His cheeks were flushed pink, a slight sheen of sweat glimmering on his forehead. Trowa had a fever.

"Trowa? What's wrong? Are you all right?"

"Y… Yes. Do not worry me about." Trowa gave him a soft smile. "Be good I is." Quatre nodded slowly, facing forward again as the line moved forward where the five guards stood against the wall, one in a chair, obviously the leader of them.

Duo watched the seated man. He wore high, black boots that gleamed, so out of place in this dusty, drab hut. The soldier sat with his black-booted feet spread apart. If he wanted to let the inmate live, his left foot tapped. If he wanted him sent to his death, his right foot tapped. Duo felt a surge of dread with every man that passed. Many of them still seemed like healthy workers, but their eyes were dead and empty. They were just blank shells, their souls already departed for _Sheol_. He held his breath as first Wufei, then Heero marched past the guards, backs straight, heads held high. You had to admire them, Duo admitted to himself. They had strength, and they had their pride, however shamed they felt. They both got the left foot. Duo stepped forward, keeping his eyes respectfully on the ground, his back straight, trying to look as strong as he felt. He knew he wasn't looking the best he could, but he was still plenty healthy. It had never occurred to him that he might be chosen and leave them all alone. But the left black boot tapped, and a soldier motioned him through the doorway into the next room.

He joined Heero and Wufei, sliding on his clothing as he watched Trowa stand in front of the poker-faced man. 'Not a single cough. No coughing, no sniffling, nothing,' he reminded Trowa silently in a vain hope that he was telepathic. But Trowa was the perfect actor, standing straight, any coughing kept deep inside of him. The foot tapped left. Duo let out a sigh of relief, then almost choked on it when another man in a white lab coat stepped forward. A doctor.

"You are a gypsy?" the man asked, taking Trowa's arm in his hand and turning it over to check the number burned blaring blue on the pale skin.

Trowa stood still, only the tiniest sparkling in his eye showing the fear that blazed inside of him. Duo sucked in a breath. No… Not a gypsy… Don't take him… They couldn't…

The man wrote down Trowa's number on a clipboard, then gave him a shove towards the next room where the survivors stood. "What he for do that?" he questioned of Duo the instant he saw him, moving over to him, pulling his clothes on as he went.

"I… don't know," Duo admitted. "Sometimes, many gypsies get their numbers written… They get moved to another area, I don't know where."

"But I want with you stay," Trowa replied, his eyes concerned.

"I know. I'll do my be- Quatre!" He had nearly forgotten about the blond teen, shoving his way past Trowa to watch from the doorway. Apparently the white-coated man's writing down Trowa's number had caused a discrepancy, because the commanding officer was berating him rather loudly in heated German that even Duo had a hard time understanding around his growling. Something about good workers, stupid theories, and illness. Whatever was wrong, it ended quickly, and the officer motioned for the line to move on.

Quatre moved to the center of the room, looking just as wide-eyed and scared as he had looked the day Duo had met him. Duo held his breath.

The right foot tapped. "Shit," Duo muttered.

"Sir." One of the men stepped forward to address the commanding officer. He bent down to speak into the man's ear.

Quatre stood in the middle of the floor, his heart thundering in his chest, feeling more exposed than he had in a long time. As the foot hit the floor, his heart skipped a beat, and, for one terrible moment, he was afraid he was going to pass out. The sounds around him seemed to roar, so he could barely hear the young man talking to the officer who had just signed his death warrant, but, by lip-reading and a lot of guessing, he was able to make out 'Treize', 'number', and 'to be sure'.

"Hold out your arm," the raven-booted man said, rising to his ebony feet with a sharp click.

Quatre's arm shook like a tree limb in a storm as he held out his right arm with the number blazoned across it. The man took his arm roughly, squeezing it between beefy fingers, studying the number intently, then letting go with a soft snort. "I see. One lucky bastard." He pointed towards the doorway. "Go, swine."

Quatre turned and dashed for the doorway, his clothing flapping in his hands like striped flags.

Duo caught him around the waist, pulling him close in a hug, stroking his hair gently. "Quatre…"

The next moment, Trowa's arms were around them both, holding them tightly in a firm embrace. Quatre cuddled back against him. "Trowa…"

"What was all that?" Duo asked softly, pulling back to look Quatre in the face.

"I… I don't know," Quatre said softly, his voice no more than a gasp of air. His face burned for reasons unknown, and all he could do was cling to Duo's shirt like a lifeline.

"But you're all right?" Duo stroked Quatre's blond bangs out of his eyes.

"Y… Yes." Other than his extremely shaky legs and his blood thundering in his ears, he was fine. Warm and safe in Trowa's arms. He glanced over at Heero and Wufei who were not looking his way, which made him aware he was still very unclothed. He blushed and quickly slid his striped prison uniform over his tiny body. Only then did he finally get their attention. "You are all right, Heero? Wufei?"

"We're fine," Heero replied. "We are wondering if Trowa is all right. They wrote his number down."

"I don't know what it means," Duo responded, feeling more than a bit helpless. He had heard horror stories about gypsies though, who had been used for inhuman experiments. Mutilated beyond recognition, screams of pain sometimes still frozen on their faces as they were handed off to the _Sonderkommando_ to be burned. But he couldn't tell Trowa that now. Not now, not after he had just come to them, not now that he and Quatre had grown so close and then almost just lost each other. It might not even be true. They were merely rumors; he had never seen them for himself. He would not scare Trowa like that.

"Come on, let's get away from the door. We'll be allowed back to bed as soon as the selection is over."

"How can you be so nonchalant over this?" Wufei asked suddenly, his black eyes glittering like two scarabs. "People are being chosen to die!"

"I'm not happy about it!" Duo defended, glowering slightly at Wufei, a look that seldom crossed his elvish face. "I would save them all if I could! But there's nothing I can do. Nothing you can do. If you want to live, you have to look out for yourself. I want to take care of you four, so I need to stay alive. I don't want you four to die!"

"Why us?" Quatre asked softly from Trowa's arms. "Among everyone you could have picked, why us?"

"Because I like you all. I saw something in each of you that I liked, that I wanted to protect. Something I wanted to keep alive."

"Really?" Quatre asked, his eyes shining in delight.

"Yes. Come on, you guys, move away from the door."

Once the selection was over, the inmates were allowed back in to go back to bed. Heero and Wufei crashed immediately, and Duo soon followed suit. However, Quatre found himself too hyped and jumpy from his brief brush with death to go to sleep. He lay still on the bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to close his eyes. He had been spared for Treize. Because Treize expected him to come to him. To be his lover. To be his slave. But he wouldn't do it, even if it was the reason he was living and not taken away to… whatever fate awaited those who were "chosen". He shivered a bit in Trowa's arms. Death was a scary thought.

A sudden shift against him startled him. "Oh, Trowa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," he whispered apologetically.

"No, you me wake not."

"Are you thinking about tonight too?"

"Yes."

"Are you scared?"

"Yes."

"Me too." Quatre nestled back against him, liking the way their bodies spooned together so nicely.

"Duo protect you." Trowa gave him a gentle hug around the waist.

"I know, but… there's only so much he can do."

Trowa seemed to puzzle over what Quatre had just said, so Quatre switched to French, as he had sometimes been forced to. Being the son of a politician was good; he could afford the best education, including languages. Five years of French with a private tutor were starting to pay off.

"There's only so much he can do. He said if we were chosen, he could not save us."

Trowa smiled softly as Quatre's alto voice changed to the more familiar language. Duo had encouraged him to try to always speak German, so he would become more fluent, but sometimes he simply did not understand.

"Yes, but he can do much more than most. He will not let us die easily." He suddenly turned away from Quatre, covering his mouth, coughing painfully. Quatre rolled over to face him, patting Trowa's back gently. Trowa coughed and coughed, harsh, rattling ones that shook his willowy body.

"Trowa? Trowa, are you all right?"

The hacking finally stopped, and Trowa turned back to him, swallowing thickly, his breath wheezing in his lungs. "Are you all right?"

"Y… Yes." Trowa swallowed again, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.

Quatre wrapped his arms around Trowa's waist in another hug. Trowa held him tightly. "Quatre, I don't want you to die."

"I don't want you to die either," Quatre whispered softly. "You're the greatest friend I've ever had."

"Not as good as Duo."

"Better than Duo," Quatre argued. "Because we want… need… to be near one another. And Duo understands that and wants us to be together. I love you both."

Trowa smiled, reaching down to stroke the long, blond bangs out of Quatre's too-big, blue eyes.

Quatre smiled back, slowly sliding his hand up to touch Trowa's cheek tenderly. He had never touched another boy like this before, but it felt nice, not like Treize had touched him.

Trowa shyly turned his head to kiss Quatre's palm. Quatre jumped as a jolt of pleasure went through him like electricity. It felt so good… "Trowa, I love you."

"I love you too." Whether or not either of them meant true love, Quatre didn't know. All he knew was that he felt a connection with Trowa that extended beyond just friendship into something deeper, something unclear. And it made him feel good.

They lay down again, snuggling against each other til Quatre could feel Trowa's warm breath on his face. "Trowa?"

"_Oui_?"

"What are you going to do when the war is over?"

"I don't know," Trowa admitted.

"I… I plan to go home. Would… would you go with me?"

Trowa smiled brightly at him, but there was a deep sadness in his emerald eyes. "When we are free, I will be with you forever."

Quatre glanced up into Trowa's face, attempting to sit up, but Trowa held him down. "Trowa? What's wrong?"

"There is nothing wrong."

"You just look so sad."

Trowa didn't respond, stroking his hair gently in reply. Quatre sighed softly and hugged him around the waist. "I hate them."

"Who?"

"The Nazis."

"Why?"

"Because of what they've done."

"What?"

Quatre was getting annoyed with the one-word questions. "All of this. Death. Separating families. Destroying people's lives."

"I don't hate them," Trowa replied softly.

"Duo has said that too. Why don't you hate them for what they've done?"

"I hate what they've done," Trowa corrected. "But I don't hate them."

"_I_ hate them."

"You shouldn't."

"Why not? Can't you see what they do?"

"I can."

"Then… why?"

Trowa thought for a moment before softly answering, "Because they are human beings too."

"No they're not."

"Yes, they are," Trowa argued before he turned away and coughed again, a few heavy chokes. Finally he turned back to Quatre, who was ready to argue back.

"When you see them pull out their guns and shoot someone because they are not standing up straight, how can you say they are still human?"

Trowa sighed softly. "What they do is horrible, yes. But… I cannot help but see the reason behind it. See a misguided people who are only following orders blindly."

"But that does not excuse what they've done."

"No… But human beings, by nature, are designed to survive."

"Designed to survive?"

"Greedy by nature."

"What do you mean?"

"If they do not follow orders, they will be killed, yes?"

"Yes…"

"Then why would they not save their own lives?"

"So… you're saying they are not evil because they are only trying to save themselves?"

"Yes. However subconscious it may be, that's their reason for doing the things they do."

Quatre pondered over that for a moment, still not accepting it, but… Trowa could believe what he wanted. And maybe, deep down on some level, he was right. "You're an amazing person, Trowa Barton."

Trowa laughed softly. "No…"

"Yes."

Trowa reached down to stroke his cheek gently, then hesitated. Quatre's eyes locked with Trowa's, and his breath caught in his throat, a nervous feeling bubbling up in his stomach. "T… Trowa…"

"Yes?"

Quatre hesitated himself, then slowly nodded and leaned forward. Trowa watched him before slowly leaning in and, a moment later, their lips met in a tender, soft kiss.

The world swam around them for a moment as they held the kiss, tiny hands going up around a slender neck, larger ones wrapping around the smaller's waist. Warm mouth pressed to warm mouth eagerly but calmly, embracing one another close.

Finally they separated the kiss, eyes bright, cheeks slightly flushed. Quatre's pretty, pink lips were slightly swollen, his cheeks tingling for unknown reasons as he stared up at Trowa, his breath deep and slow. "Trowa-."

"Shh. Enough for now. Go to sleep."

"But-."

"Sleep."

"I love you."

"…I love you too. Good night."

"G… Good night, Trowa."

The taller teen closed his eyes, laying down and pulling the thin blanket over his slender body.

Quatre lay awake for a while, staring at the boy's sleeping form. He had kissed Trowa. It was strange, but not unpleasant. So much better than when Treize had touched him. What did that mean? He had never really kissed anyone before except his sisters, and, occasionally, his father. He had been taught that kisses were for husband and wife, so did that make kissing Trowa wrong? He didn't think so… It was so confusing. He sighed and closed his eyes, going to sleep, his lips tingling when he remembered the gentle caress of Trowa's mouth against his.

It was the morning of June 6, 1944, that an announcement rang over the camp loudspeakers. "All inmates will return to their barracks until further notice. Anyone found outside will be shot."

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," Duo replied, stretching out on the bunk lazily as the others found their usual places on it.

"I wonder why they suddenly decided to give us a day off," Wufei mused softly.

"I'm sure something has happened to the Germans in their battle," Heero replied softly in a rare moment of actually speaking. "A major setback they were not planning."

"Perhaps they lost their control on one of their other concentration camps," Quatre replied hopefully, catching one of Trowa's arms in his own.

"Maybe." Duo stretched lazily, then rolled onto his side to face them. "Well, we have a bunch of free time now… So, let's talk."

"Talk?" Wufei wrinkled his nose at the prospect. "What about?"

"Us. I don't know much about any of you," Duo replied, sitting up and tucking his legs prettily underneath him. "So… I want to know how you all got here. 'Cept for Quatre, of course, since I already dragged that out of him." He gave Quatre a playful wink. Quatre smiled softly.

Trowa looked confused as to what was going on. Quatre leaned over to him and spoke to him for a moment in near-perfect French, explaining Duo wanted to know where he came from and how he came here to Auschwitz.

"So, who wants to go first?" Duo asked, surveying his little group of friends, his eyes sparkling. No one responded. "Okay, I'll go first. My family is from Stuttgart. I lived there all my life. In 1940, the Germans captured our neighborhood, and any people there who could work were sent to a factory there to make airplane parts. I went with my parents and was apparently seen as valuable enough to keep around instead of sending me away with the younger children. We lived in that factory on another floor and received two meals a day. I worked alongside my parents." Duo paused, staring off at the far wall thoughtfully.

"In 1943, we were taken away from the factory. We were in a ghetto for just over a month before my family and I were taken here to Auschwitz. I've been here ever since." Duo went silent, a faraway look in his violet eyes.

"What happened to your family?" Quatre asked softly after a moment.

"My older brother worked in the _Sonderkommando_ for several months, but they are changed, a.k.a., exterminated every few months. He died almost six months ago. My mother was sent to the woman's camp at Birkenau. She died in the gas four months ago. Just before you all came. My father was sent directly to the gas when we arrived, because he aged so much that month in the ghetto. The three bedmates I was with since I arrived here… Two died from typhus, and one was transferred to another camp. I'm not sure where he is now."

Everyone was silent for a few long moments, contemplating what Duo had just told them. Duo had lost everything: his family, his friends, his home… Yet he was more alive than any of them, caring for them and having a smile for them each morning, happy to be alive, and happy to have them along-side him. It was amazing to consider, how someone could still be so cheerful after such hardship and suffering.

"Well, enough about me," Duo replied, turning to the group with his trademark smile carefully in place. "I want to hear about… you, Heero."

Heero's cobalt eyes narrowed just a bit as Duo pointed at him, then relented. "Very well… I grew up in a small town called Rosenheim, south of Munich. I lived with my Grandfather Jay all my life. The Nazis took over our town over a year ago and enforced the rules about where Jews could go and where we could live. Our house was in the middle of the area, so we were able to stay. I left home one day, just because I didn't want to be there, and a soldier grabbed me up off the street and put me in a truck with at least a hundred other people. They drove us to the train station, and we were taken here." Heero finished his story without any indication whatsoever that he was done, just stopping, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Wow, that sucks," Duo replied softly, leaning back on his hands, studying him. "Any idea what happened to your grandfather?"

"No."

"Why did you live with him?" Quatre asked quietly.

"My parents died when I was three in a fire at our house. I was at my grandfather's at the time, so I stayed with him." Heero shot him a glance that plainly stated he wished to continue this conversation no further. Quatre shrank back against Trowa.

Duo flipped his braid over his shoulder uneasily. "You worried about him?"

"No. He's a resilient old geezer."

Duo laughed brightly at that, shaking his head. "You're something else, Yuy. All right, Trowa, what about you?"

Trowa glanced up in surprise. "Oh…. I… I come from Paris first. I was gypsy there with family. We travel France, near Germany. The soldiers raid and come our camp. All women…" Here, Trowa hesitated. "I not know word…"

"Tell me in French," Quatre said softly.

Trowa leaned over, whispering in his ear, "_Viol_."

Quatre puzzled over that for a moment before comprehension dawned on him. "Oh… _Raub_. Rape… The women were raped."

Trowa nodded slowly. "Yes, that… that right is. My sister, Catherine, was one them…" Tears suddenly sparkled in Trowa's eyes, but they did not fall. "Our… our… olders were shot all, and young were put in a wagon, and the wagon on fire."

"Oh, god," Quatre whispered softly, his hand going to his mouth in shock. Duo put an arm around him gently.

Trowa looked away shamefully, coughing a moment before continuing. "We were sent to French camp… Drancy… We only there are for a week… Then we sent to Dachau, then Methausen. Catherine is Methausen now, I think… I then sent here, and I find you, Wufei." He looked up at the Chinese boy with a slight smile, which Wufei returned with a nod. "And then… Duo come for me, and now I am here." He hugged Quatre gently.

Duo smiled softly. "We're glad you're here, Tro."

Trowa smiled softly, then turned aside and started to cough again. Duo sighed softly as Quatre sat up and rubbed his back gently. That was really starting to scare him. Every morning now Trowa would wake up and start coughing for a good two minutes before he was able to breathe again. That could not be a good thing.

When Trowa's coughing was back under control, Duo turned back to the group as if nothing had happened. "How about you, Wufei?"

Wufei looked up from where he had been studying his lap. "Me?"

"You're the only Wufei here," Duo teased brightly. "Come on, what's your story?"

Wufei hesitated for a moment, but when he noticed even Heero watching him in interest, he relented. "I am from a small city called Heidelberg. My family came to Germany three generations ago. We lived in the same house ever since we came. When Hitler," Wufei spat the name out like spicy poison, "began imprisoning Jews, many Jews fleeing from the north to Switzerland passed through our city. We offered our home to them to protect them. Along the way, a family came to us, the Berkowitzes. They had three young children and no place to go, so my family hid them in our cellar. We hid them right before the beginning of the deportation of German Jews, in September of 1941. They said they had been able to run from the Nazis for a long time to avoid being put into a ghetto." Wufei paused for a moment, reflecting.

"We kept them with us for almost three years. Our neighbors suspected us, but no one turned us in. Until March of this year. The SS raided our house…" Wufei's tenor voice grew softer still. "My family and I were dragged outside… They made us lie on the ground… We could hear them ransacking our house, but we could do nothing." Wufei's eyes averted from the clustered group before him to over the edge of the bunk. "They found the family and dragged them out with us. The children… So young…" Tears seemed to shimmer in the Oriental teen's eyes before he quickly pushed them back as if they had not occurred. "They shot them in front of us…" He shuddered a bit as he remembered the spray of hot blood he had felt on his face when the bullet had pierced straight through the youngest girl, her lifeless body collapsing inches away from him, glazed, brown eyes scared and dull, staring straight back at him… He felt the pull of nausea in his stomach, but he forced it back.

"They made us stand by a truck, except my twin sister, Meilan… I could hear her screams… From inside the house…" Again, those damned tears welled in his ebony eyes, and, try as he might, he could not hold back one that fell down his smudged cheek. "The soldiers came back out, but she did not… One of the soldiers approached me…" His voice softened even more til the others could barely hear it. "'She your sister, traitorous swine?' He held up his hands, and… and they were scarlet with my sister's blood... 'You look just like her. It's a pity you're a boy.' He touched my cheek, his thumb on my lips… Her blood… on my face… And all I could do was stand there… And hate him…"

"God," Duo breathed softly, shattering the glass of the uncomfortable silence that had been building and building like a wall around them. "Wufei, I… I am _so_ sorry…"

Wufei shook his head slowly, turning bloodshot eyes to Duo. "No… I don't need your sympathy."

"But there's nothing wrong with having it."

"Just don't." Wufei fought the urge to wipe his eyes. "She's dead, and there's nothing any of you can do about it, so just forget it. I'm here now, and everyone I love is gone."

"What happened to your parents?" Heero ventured softly. Had it been anyone else, Wufei probably would have yelled just then, but Heero's voice was more forceful than gentle.

"We were sent to jail. My father was killed there when they interrogated him. They wanted to know who else was involved with hiding Jews, but we knew none. My mother and I were sent here, and she was sent to the gas immediately. The Berkowitzes as well. I am the only one left of my family."

"Wufei… When I first met you," Heero replied, referring to the time when Wufei had grabbed his arms to keep him from attacking the nearest Nazi. "You seemed so strong… Everyone had just then been taken away from you… How could you still be so strong-willed then?"

"I… I buried them in my heart," Wufei replied, meeting his eyes with nothing less than heartbreaking blankness. "I could not help them, and I could not let myself die with them. I had to be strong to live, and so I was. That's all I could do."

In Trowa's arms, Quatre was shivering violently. He had thought that he had had it bad… Wufei had lost everything, and it had been rubbed in his face over and over again. How could Wufei have found the strength to keep on? How could any of them? They were the strong ones, and they were finding ways to carry on despite all the evil that was going on around them. How could the strong survive?

"Everyone quiet!" the leader of the block called from his room at the end of the hall.

Duo sighed, shaking his head. "Bastard. We have a free day, I don't see why we can't talk."

"Why did you never become a _blockowy_, Duo?" Wufei asked softly, looking up at him. "You've been here so long, and you could help so many people that way."

"Me, a _blockowy_?" Duo laughed, shaking his head. "I couldn't. I'm not cruel enough. They have to be ruthless."

"Why?" Trowa asked softly.

"Because they have to control everyone in their block, and they are punished severely if something goes wrong."

Quatre shivered and pressed closer to Trowa. "I don't like him. He's frightening."

"Yes. If you get on his good side, though, you get so many benefits." Duo almost looked wistful for a moment before shaking his head. "Wishful thinking. Anyway, let's get off of this subject. What do you all plan to do when we get out of here?"

That question surprised them all. Get out?

"What makes you think we are getting out of this hell alive?" Heero asked darkly, his cobalt eyes narrowed.

Duo met his gaze evenly. "If all we think about is how and when we're going to die, we can never truly live."

"But, Duo… We might not survive," Wufei replied slowly.

"That's true. But if we dwell on it, we're as good as dead anyway." Duo gave them a cheery smile. "So, come on, tell me. What are you going to do?"

Wufei hesitated before slowly replying, "I'm going to go home. I will reclaim our house, and I plan to get married one day."

"That will be wonderful," Duo replied, leaning back on his hands. "Are we all invited?"

Wufei felt the tiniest smile quirk at the corners of his mouth. "Yes."

"Good. What about you, Heero?"

The glassy-eyed teenager regarded him for a moment before answering, "I don't know."

"Well, you must have _some_ idea," Duo replied. "Going home?"

"No."

"Got a girlfriend?"

Heero's eyes seemed to flicker for only a moment. "No."

"Gonna get a job?"

"Probably."

"As what?"

"I don't know. Is the interrogation over?"

Duo sighed, shaking his head. "You're no fun."

Heero merely glowered, crossing his arms over his chest. Duo sighed. "What about you, Trowa?"

"I… find my sister, Catherine, in Methausen… We… we go to Paris back…" Trowa glanced down at Quatre in his arms. "Then… I do not know."

Duo smiled softly. "Will you and Quatre stay together for a while?"

"I so hope," Trowa replied, giving the pretty blond a delicate smile.

Quatre smiled back before Duo asked him, "And you, Quatre?"

"I… I'm going to go home and find my sisters and my father," Quatre replied. "And we will go back to Berlin."

Duo's smile faded just the tiniest hint. Quatre still believed after months that his father was still alive. Perhaps his sisters were, but his father was guaranteed dead. "That sounds great, Quatre… But… what will you do if you don't find them?"

"I'll find them," Quatre replied, snuggling into Trowa's arms.

_Oi_, he was going to have to disillusion Quatre before the war ended, or he was in for major heartbreak when he found his family no longer alive. Duo plastered his smile in place. "I hope so."

Suddenly the _blockowy_ stalked past their bunk, shooting a nasty glare upwards to them on the third tier. "What part of shut up don't you swines understand? Do I have to punish you?"

"No, Herr _Blockowy_," Duo replied. "We will be quiet."

The man gave them a sharp glare before stalking away. Duo gave everyone a pointed look before lying down on the blankets. They followed suit, lying side by side. It was silent for a moment before Quatre worked up the courage to ask, "What are you going to do, Duo?"

Duo thought for a long moment before replying, "I want to become a writer, and tell the world our story."

That made everyone quiet for several moments before Wufei replied, "I think that is very noble, Duo. People need to know what atrocities have been committed so they do not happen again."

"I agree," Duo replied firmly. "What kind of monsters would we be if we kept our stories inside of us when they can move the world towards peace?"

Quatre smiled softly. "I agree. That's so amazing, Duo. I wouldn't think of you as that sort of person."

"Why? Cause I'm crazy and hyper?" Duo gave him a sweet smile.

Quatre laughed softly. "I suppose."

Duo chuckled and suddenly ruffled Quatre's blond hair. "Well, doesn't mean I don't have a story to tell."

Quatre nodded and squeezed Duo's hand. "Will you tell about each of us?"

"Of course! You all can help me write it!"

"If we're still alive then." The words from Heero's mouth were bitter and low.

Duo sat up and glared at Heero. "Cut it out!"

Quatre began to cry again, nestling into Trowa's arms. "I don't want to die!"

"Shh!" Wufei hissed softly, giving Trowa a look that clearly stated to get Quatre under control again. "Do you want us to get in trouble?"

"N… No…" Quatre sniffed and wiped at his eyes with his ragged sleeve.

"No one's going to die," Duo replied on his other side. "Just calm down now, Quatre."

Quatre nodded slowly, his fingers tangled in Trowa's shirt. Trowa stroked his back gently, rocking them back and forth slowly. Duo's hand joined in, rubbing at Quatre's shoulders. He slowly wrapped Quatre in his arms, crooning softly in his ear, the way one would to a frightened animal. "Hey, Quatre, do you know what our block number means?"

"What?"

"Do you know what the number 19 means to the Jews?"

Quatre slowly shook his head. "Faith," Duo replied simply.

"Faith?" Quatre echoed back.

Duo nodded slowly. "Yes…"

"Faith." The word was almost a snort from Heero's throat. "What has faith done for us?"

"Heero-."

"There is no God!" Heero snapped at the braided boy, interrupting him. Quatre jumped in Duo's arms.

"Why do you say that?" Duo asked softly, rubbing Quatre's arms comfortingly.

"What sort of a God would let something like this happen to good people?"

"People start wars, Heero, not God."

"But God created people, and he gave them free will to do evil things like this."

"People _chose_ to be evil," Duo replied. "Adam and Eve made that decision, and now that's just the way things are."

"So you don't think that what the Nazis are doing is evil?"

"Of course I think it's evil," Duo replied softly, giving Quatre a nudge into Trowa's arms. "I think everything they've done to all these innocent people is horrible and criminal, but that doesn't mean that it's God's fault."

"Then whose fault is it?"

"The evilness in the hearts of men."

"And who put that there?"

"You're not understanding a word I say."

"Yes I am!"

Trowa looked scared, and Quatre pressed close to him, wondering if what had began as a harmless thought would turn into a physical fight.

"You're saying that God made people evil, so therefore it's His fault that we are suffering the way we are."

"Yes."

"But you won't understand that people choose to do evil things. God doesn't tell them to do them. They just do."

"Then why doesn't God save us?" Heero demanded, his cobalt eyes narrowed dangerously at him. "Why doesn't he send the Messiah to save us? I haven't seen any Messiah coming with his heavenly sword to strike down our oppressors, have you?"

Duo was silent for a moment, and Heero gloated to himself for winning. "God doesn't exist."

Duo sighed and shook his head. "Heero…"

"Believe what you want, Duo, if that's what comforts you. But you're only fooling yourself."

Duo looked up at him with unreadable, violet eyes. "What comforts you, Heero?"

"…Knowing that I can do something to save myself and everyone else from these monsters, without the help of some deity who doesn't care."

"You must be miserable then," Duo said softly. "Since you can't really do anything to save people here without God's help."

Heero glowered at Duo. "Who says I can't?"

Duo raised a brow. "Are you planning something I should know about, Heero?"

"Shut up and leave me alone!" Heero snapped sharply, sitting up. He turned, pushing past Wufei, and dropping down to the floor.

"Where do you think you're going?" Duo demanded as Heero strode for the door.

"Out," Heero replied simply.

"You're not supposed to go outside now!" Duo protested. "Heero, get back here!"

Heero ignored him, grabbing the heavy door and pulling it open. "Heer-." Duo found himself cut off as Wufei's hand clapped over his mouth. The block leader had poked his head out of his room at the end of the block. Duo shushed himself, quickly lying back down. They couldn't get him any angrier at them, or they would be punished for it. But when he glanced at the main door again, Heero was gone.

Outside, the camp was deserted. It was a strange feeling. He was used to seeing it bustling with life. If that was what one could call it, anyway. Heero stood just beyond the door, taking a deep breath, feeling the warm air soothe his lungs. He didn't even know why he had been so upset by what Duo had said. But he did have a plan. He knew what he wanted to do, what he had to do. The only problem was getting the things he needed. He needed Duo for that. He leaned against the wall by the door, staring up at the sunlit sky. It was so beautiful. So wide and free. He missed freedom. Maybe if he stared long enough at the sky, he could just rise up into it, become part of it. Fly away like a distant cloud. Or like the smoke that drifted in black and white and gray puffs from the brick chimney at the edge of camp.

A sudden click near him startled him out of his thoughts, and he whirled around to see a soldier standing nearby, a handgun aimed directly at his head. He sucked in a breath, his cobalt eyes moving past the gun to the man that held it. He met long, blond hair, ice blue eyes, and tanned skin in a handsome face. A face that was very familiar.

"You," the man said, almost accusingly. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was getting some air," Heero replied, watching him carefully. If he was going to shoot, he probably would have done it by now, but he wasn't about to test that theory.

"I should shoot you," the soldier replied, as if reading his thoughts.

Heero took a deep breath, pushing himself off the wall and squaring himself right in front of the man, opening himself up to a shot right to the chest or forehead. A stupid idea, he figured, but he wasn't going to cower.

The soldier watched him before clicking the hammer off and putting the gun back in its holster. "But I like you, boy. You're strong. That's why I saved you that day when you came here. I don't want to be the one to kill you."

Heero's eyes narrowed a bit. "You're not much of a soldier then."

The man's lips curved upwards just a bit. "I guess I'm not. I didn't want to be. And I won't take your life simply because it's my duty."

Heero felt himself relax just the tiniest bit. "Oh?"

"Lieutenant Merquise!" came a call from nearby.

The soldier glanced worriedly over his shoulder, then turned back to Heero. "Get inside, or I'll have no choice but to kill you. Go!"

Not about to argue with the fact that he was being spared, Heero turned and yanked the door open, slipping inside quickly, closing the door behind him. He moved back to their bunk, hoisting himself up onto the third level. Wufei looked as calm as ever. Quatre looked as if he had been crying. Trowa looked tired, holding Quatre close against him. Duo gave him a motherly glare. "Don't ever do that again!"

Heero ignored him, lying down on the hard wood, closing his eyes, facing away from Duo. He was vaguely aware that everyone else lay down as well, but he didn't care. He needed to be alone right now, to collect his thoughts. He needed to plan.

_(Yay for finished chapter! Please review! I'll love you forever!)_


	4. Solitary Hope

Author's Notes: I updated! I think Hell froze over! Go me! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. Please read and review, and I'll love you forever.

_Special Thanks to my best bud K-chan for beta-reading for me and to my roomie Vix for her help and support._

_Thanks to RikoRishodeathangeloflight, Reliak (aka K-chan and my baby), sindy (2x1? You're in for disappointment, probably reading too much into this), Jennilyn Maxwell (you assume too much on Heero and Zechs, I'm afraid), Kyaroru-chan (many questions are soon to be answered), Kinkosami (aww, thanks, wait no longer!), Lionheart (yeah, I planned out quite a bit of it; I'm glad you can tell), sindy (oh yes he can__J ; keep reading), SpencerBrown (you have a lot of different ideas than I; I hope you like the choices I made instead), Hazel-Beka, kantomon, Deaths Fallen Angel, reviewer (why does everyone keep asking that? Just read the story, people!), sonja (I'm glad you enjoy it and it does not offend you), and (don't worry, story's not dying) for all the reviews. Please review for me, and I will personally thank you in the next chapter._

Warnings: mild yaoi, language, violence, anti-religious statements, death

* * *

Duo yawned deeply, stretching out on the bunk, his hands behind his head. He was feeling a lot more tired the last few days. He was pretty sure it was the early August heat. Summers were hell in Poland. But he would much rather be in the barracks right now than outside. Trains had been arriving almost constantly, and all the victims on them were immediately sent to the gas chambers. Duo thanked God that all his friends had come long before that had started. Through the windows of the sorting block, he could see people walking along the path towards the 'showers', not aware at all of the fate that awaited them at the end of the walk. It made him sick, but he had to keep reminding himself that there was nothing he could do to help them. He had four other boys to take care of right now, and he cared for them more than anything else in the world. 

"Duo?"

He almost missed hearing his name because Heero almost never said anything at all, but, when he finally shook himself out of his trance to look up at him, he found a pair of navy eyes staring down into his earnestly.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Heero, kinda spaced out. What'cha need?" He sat up from his reclined position.

Heero glanced over at Trowa and Quatre who were engaged in an animated conversation in French and Wufei who appeared to be napping, though he was sure Wufei was listening quite closely to what he had to say. "Can we go somewhere else to talk?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah… Sure." Duo slid over the side of the bunk, motioning for Heero to follow. The door at the end of the barrack that led to the toilets was open, so Duo took Heero by the hand and pulled him inside the long room. Surprisingly, Heero did not resist the contact between them. Something really had to be on his mind. The smell of the room made his stomach turn, but it was a good place to talk in private without getting in trouble for being out of the barrack. "What's up?"

"I need you to get something for me." Heero went straight to the point.

Duo raised a brow. Heero never asked for anything, and he always seemed to have trouble accepting the tidbits Duo sometimes brought back for him. "What is it?"

"A knife."

"Whoa whoa, no way!" Duo protested, grabbing Heero by the shoulders, his fingers digging into the darker boy's shoulders.

Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why not?"

"First of all, I can't get ahold of dangerous items like that. Second, no way would I give you something like that. What the hell are you planning to do?"

"It's not your business."

"Oh yes it is! Heero, what are you trying to do?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Cause I'm not going to let you leave til you do."

Heero gave Duo's arms a sharp shove off of him. Duo recoiled in shock, pulling one of his arm close, rubbing the red marks Heero's hands had left. "Heero…"

Heero glared into Duo's violet eyes. "I've told you what I want, Duo. Are you going to help me or not?"

"Not until you tell me what it's for," Duo replied, his eyes dropping to the floor, letting his arms fall to his sides.

"I'm gonna take out Treize Khushrenada."

"Heero!" Duo gasped, his eyes going wide. "You'll never be able to do that!"

"Who says I can't?"

"You'll never make it out of the block! You're gonna get shot, and I'm not going to help you!"

"Duo, I'm asking for one simple favor here."

"I can't get a knife for you."

"You can get anything."

"No way, Heero! I'm not risking something that big or that dangerous. It's never going to work."

Heero crossed his arms over his chest, glowering darkly. "If Treize is dead, this camp will fall apart."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do! That's how the Nazis work. Everything goes straight to the top command. If that's gone, they won't know where to turn, long enough that we can take down the rest of the guards."

"I don't like this plan, Heero, and I'm not going to help you. You're not thinking clearly." Duo's violet eyes met navy ones in a fierce glare. "You can't just walk up to the Colonel's office. You'd never make it past the watchtowers or past the center square."

"I'll never know til I try."

"And what happens when you get killed?" Duo replied angrily, grabbing Heero's shoulders again, his nails digging in tightly. Unexpected tears sprang to his eyes as a lump that nearly choked him formed in his throat. "Heero, you can't do this. I need you to stay alive. I want you here, with us. Please. Stop thinking like this."

Heero gazed back into Duo's overly large eyes, and he couldn't help but feel a bit upset that Duo was hurt by his plan, but anger won over any sympathy he had. "If you're not my friend, you're my enemy."

"I _am_ your friend!" Duo replied, his eyes going wide in shock, his hands falling away from Heero's shoulders again. He had left crescent moon indentations in the coffee-colored skin under Heero's shirt. The tears that had been teetering on his lower lashes finally were given permission to fall, and they coursed down his cheeks in tiny streams. "How could you think I wasn't?"

Heero watched the tears fall like stars from Duo's eyes, but he couldn't shake the feeling that nagged at the back of his mind that he was right and Duo was wrong. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Duo's face melted with indecision a long moment, and Heero could almost see the gears turning inside under that thick, chestnut braid, before Duo replied, so soft Heero almost didn't hear it, "No. I'm not going to help you."

Heero was silent for a long moment, and Duo was almost afraid that he wasn't going to respond at all, before the death bell finally tolled. "Fine. Then leave me alone. I don't need your help."

"Heero…" The tears were back, falling down Duo's smudged cheeks, creating dirty paths down his jaw line. "Don't be like this, please…"

Heero turned and stalked out of the toilet without another word or glance to the other Jew, leaving Duo alone in the stinking room to shed his final tears before going back to the bunk where his other charges were waiting. Heero was gone.

* * *

Duo didn't hear another word about their fight after that day, but it was obvious Heero had not forgiven him with every nasty glare he received whenever he looked at him. But, a few mornings later, he didn't have any time to think about it as the early morning roll call approached. 

"Come on, Tro. Time to get up," Duo said, shaking Trowa gently. The usual shouts and door slamming hadn't done much to rouse Trowa from his slumber.

"Yes. Come on, Trowa." Quatre stroked the gypsy boy's arm gently.

Trowa's emerald eyes opened weakly, crossing for a moment before they managed to focus on Duo. "I… I don't think I cannot get up."

Duo had to think about that sentence for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "You have to get up. Come on."

Quatre could see Trowa's body flex in an effort to push himself up before he collapsed again. "I… I can't."

Duo hesitated, glancing over at where Heero and Wufei were sitting, watching, their eyes betraying their want to leave and line up. "Go," he told them. "Go line up. I'll wait til Trowa can get up, and then we'll join you."

"I'm staying too!" Quatre replied adamantly.

"No. You go, or you might get in trouble."

Quatre glowered, crossing his skinny arms over his chest. Duo blinked at that before a small smile crossed his lips. Well, Quatre was getting a backbone after all. "All right, you can stay. Heero, Wufei, go. If we're not there in five minutes, find another line to stand in."

The two nodded and vanished over the side of the bunk. Quatre watched them go, then turned to Trowa again. "Trowa, you _have_ to get up."

"I can't." Trowa's voice was barely audible.

"Come on. Please. Try," Duo coaxed gently.

Trowa tried to sit up again, but he made even less progress than the first attempt. "I cannot. You two leave, go me alone."

"We're not leaving you alone," Duo argued. "If we leave you, you'll be taken away."

Trowa's eyes went wider in shock before he struggled again to try and sit up.

"Can't we help him?" Quatre asked Duo softly, pleadingly, as he watched his best friend strain against the weakness in his body.

"If he can't get out of bed, he can't stand up in line. If we hold him up, they'll take him away from us."

"No," Quatre whispered softly, catching Trowa's hand in his own and squeezing it tightly. He could feel every bone in the French boy's hand.

"Then he needs to find the strength to get up," Duo replied gently but firmly. "Trowa, if you don't, we'll all be in trouble. Come on now. I know you can do this."

Trowa tried to sit up yet again, then turned aside, coughing sharply. Duo sighed, reaching over to gently squeeze Quatre's other hand. "Trowa, are you all right?"

Trowa nodded slowly, wiping at his mouth with his free hand before letting go of Quatre's almost-crushing grip. His eyes turned upwards towards Quatre's sapphire ones. "Quatre…"

"Trowa, please…" Tears formed in Quatre's eyes. "Please get up."

Trowa glanced over at Duo, whose heart-shaped face was knitted with concern and a hint of what looked like anger. His teeth found his thin, lower lip, and he clamped them down as he pushed himself up on the heels of hands, struggling to get himself balanced once he was. The world spun a moment before he was able to focus again. "A… All right…"

"You gotta get off the bunk," Duo replied, giving Quatre a nudge to the end of the bed. "Follow Quatre down, all right?"

Trowa pushed the blankets away from him, shivering as the cold wind whipped over his emaciated body. It took him a little effort to crawl to the edge of the bed, and it took almost three minutes for Quatre and Duo to help him down the three slats to the ground. Leaning heavily upon his blond friend, he stumbled for the door, Duo hurrying after them, shooing them hurriedly like a frantic mother hen.

The prisoners had already lined up, and Wufei and Heero were nowhere to be seen, so Duo just steered them into a three-person line at the end of one of the rows, praying that no one would notice their tardiness. The guards that patrolled didn't always pay a lot of attention, as long as everyone kept quiet. He couldn't help but fidget a bit as he felt Trowa shifting from foot to foot, obviously trying to stay upright. He wanted to send Trowa to the hospital, but that was just signing Trowa's death warrant to the gas chambers, and he would not do that, no matter the cost.

The woman with pink ribbons in her hair came for the usual morning roll call, and Duo felt a bit of relief wash over him when she passed by their shortened line without a second glance. He stood as straight and tall as he could, his eyes on the ground, sending up a silent prayer of thanks to Heaven.

Roll call was almost over when the woman officer came walking back along the rows, then stopped right in front of Duo, Trowa, and Quatre. "You three will stay behind."

Duo's eyes widened in terror, lifting his head to look into her merciless eyes, but he nodded slowly, lowering his head so his chin touched his chest. "Yes, _Frau Kommander_."

Trowa and Quatre echoed his words. The woman smiled a tight, thin-lipped, no-mirth smile before stalking away again.

As the crowd dispersed, Duo caught Quatre and Trowa's hands, pulling them closer to him. Quatre pressed tightly against his side like a child clinging to a mother, looking up at him, questions in his eyes that Duo couldn't answer. He glanced around the open area before blinking in surprise. Heero and Wufei were standing halfway across the square all alone. What were they…?

"You five, line up!" the lady officer ordered, pointing in front of her. Duo gave Quatre a shove, dragging the weakened Trowa behind him, meeting up with Heero and Wufei in the center of the field and quickly steering them all into a perfectly straight line.

"Follow me," she ordered, turning sharply on her heel the way only a soldier could, striding away towards another section of the camp. Duo gave Quatre a nudge to follow her.

"Go," he whispered softly. Quatre stumbled, but he followed after the woman. The five were silent as they walked. Duo's teeth clenched firmly together. Were they headed for the gas? Another job? The Black Wall where they shot prisoners? He received his answer when she stopped in front of a row of barred doors that led into several tiny rooms. She turned to them, and the group simultaneously froze.

"You five don't seem to understand being on time, so, to remind you, you will stay here until evening _Zählappell_ with no meals." She unlocked the door with a key produced from her pocket and held it open, pointing sharply. "Inside, all of you, now! _Los_!"

When Quatre hesitated, Duo gave him a sharp shove inside. Making the officer mad would only make things worse from them. The others behind him quickly followed him inside, cramming themselves into the small space. It was obviously intended to be only for one person, so trying to shove five teenage boys inside of it was quite a task.

The door slammed with a rusty clang, trapping the five boys inside the small space. Heero and Wufei pressed their backs against the metal door. The lady officer smirked, turning and walking away swiftly, leaving them in the tiny, hot, cramped room.

Duo glanced around worriedly, already feeling the oppressive heat from all five of their bodies collecting in the small space. "We should all try to sit, or we're gonna pass out from the heat."

Somehow, with a lot of swearing and some minor injuries to toes and arms, they all managed to sit down on the cold, cement floor. Duo sat squished next to Heero and Wufei against the door, and Quatre and Trowa sat against the opposite wall. All of their knees were drawn to their chests, but their feet still met in the middle of the room. Eyes averted from each other's shamefully, as if no one was quite sure what to say.

Duo finally broke the silence. "Well, this sucks."

The words did not have the desired affect of cheering them up as he had hoped. He sighed softly. "Look, guys, we're alive, okay? They coulda shot us all, but they didn't."

That seemed to just make the silence hang thicker. Duo leaned back against the door with a defeated sigh. "At least we're together."

That prompted a few nods. Duo gave them all gentle smiles. "Look at it this way. We don't have to work today."

Quatre managed a soft giggle at that. Encouraged, Duo squeezed the boy's knee, which wasn't much of a reach in their cramped space. "We can be here, knowing we're all okay."

Heero crossed his arms over his chest. "You can make everything into a good thing, can't you?" His voice was dark and slightly bitter.

"Kinda have to," Duo replied. "Otherwise you spend your whole life wallowing in self-pity." Heero glared viciously back at him.

Trowa was starting to fan himself with his hand even though it was still early in the morning before the sun had even fully risen. Duo glanced up worriedly. If he was hot already, he was going to be sweltering in a few hours when the sun moved around to shine directly on them. "Trowa? You all right?"

Trowa nodded slowly, but it was obvious from the look in his eyes he was not. Sweat was already breaking out all over his face, making strands of auburn stick to his forehead. In the early-morning light, he was almost sheet white.

Quatre gave Trowa's arm a little shake. "Trowa?"

Trowa groaned, burying his face in his knees. But then his breath started to come in wheezes, and he sat up again, breathing hard, one hand clenched to his diaphragm.

"Trowa? Trowa, are you all right?" Quatre begged softly, reaching up to touch Trowa's cheek. It was burning under his touch.

Trowa started to cough. Deep, throaty, raspy coughs that shook his entire body. His hand flew to his mouth to try to stifle it, but it didn't seem to work at all. Duo cringed. "Hey, Tro. Deep breaths."

"Is there any way we can get some water, Duo?" Quatre asked softly, rubbing Trowa's arm lightly.

Duo shook his head. "I wouldn't dare ask. We're in deep enough shit already."

"I… I be will all right," Trowa replied, every word coming out as a separate breath, the sound of the air in his lungs thick and wheezing, muffled by the hand over his mouth.

Duo nodded slowly, watching closely as Trowa pulled his hand away from his mouth. The hand moved to his lap, but not before Duo noticed that the palm had splotches of red decorating it. Trowa was coughing up blood. He wasn't quite sure yet what Trowa had, but if he was coughing up blood, he was coughing long and hard enough to tear the tender lining inside his lungs. No matter what, that was a bad sign.

No one else seemed to have noticed, not even Quatre, and Duo found himself chewing on his own lower lip as he studied Trowa. The boy looked pale and unhealthy, more than he would expect. He had lost a lot of weight recently in a very short time, more than he should have in the circumstances. And though he hid it well, it was obvious that every night it was an effort even to climb up onto the bunk. He was sick. Very sick. If there was another selection soon, there was no way he would pass it, Romani or not. And that also left that question of what had they taken Trowa's number down for? No one had approached him; no one had taken him away. He didn't know what was worse. Waiting and not knowing, or having him taken away. If Trowa was taken away, Quatre would quickly lose all will to live, and he didn't want that to happen either.

Duo leaned over and gently placed a hand on Trowa's knee. The boy looked up at him through blood-shot eyes. "Hey, Tro, why don't you move over by the door? You don't look so good."

Wufei instantly gave Heero a shove to move him, and the five boys wormed around in the tiny space, scraping hands and stepping on feet in the process til Trowa was leaning against the iron door, breathing deeply. Quatre curled again against Trowa's side, rubbing his arm gently. Duo sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck that was already sticky with sweat. He lifted his braid up and down, trying to cool it. "So… Awkward silence."

Heero rolled his eyes. "Why should we all be punished for this?"

Duo gave him a dark glare. He was getting sick of Heero's holier-than-though attitude when they all should have been there for each other. "Shut the hell up, Yuy. We'd have done the same if it had been you. It's not like we're dead."

"He's right, Heero," Wufei replied, his voice calm and quiet in the way that only Wufei could. "We can handle no food and no water for one day. And we can rest. It could be much worse than this."

Heero growled softly but nodded. Duo gave Wufei a grateful glance. Wufei didn't acknowledge it.

"Everyone sleep," Duo ordered softly. "I think we all need it."

He received no objections.

* * *

It was several hours later before Duo suddenly stirred awake. He blinked violet eyes, wondering what had woken him up, other than the heat. He quickly figured out what it was because it was sitting right across from him. Trowa was doubled over in pain, both arms wrapped around his torso, his eyes squeezed shut, his teeth clenched tightly. Quatre had both hands on Trowa's back, rubbing them worriedly. Wufei and Heero had also just awoken, it seemed. 

"Trowa?" he asked softly, leaning forward a bit, which wasn't saying much as they were already knee-to-knee.

Trowa's face was a mottled combination of green and white. He looked horrible, and Duo felt his stomach clench in terror. He quickly tucked his legs under him so he could swing himself up to meet Trowa's face. "Look at me."

Trowa's eyes opened ever so slightly, a streak of emerald the only thing visible. "Trowa, are you all right?"

Trowa shook his head weakly before his hand clapped to his mouth. Duo watched his body spasm and clench. He shoved Quatre aside, shifting against Trowa to turn him around so his body was facing the metal-barred door. "Breathe."

Trowa's hands moved to clench the metal bars, breathing through his nose, but it wasn't enough. He vomited all over, doubling over in pain.

Duo sighed silently. Shit. Now Trowa was ill. He needed medical attention, but he wasn't going to get it. He rubbed the slender shoulders gently until the boy had finished retching up last night's meal and was panting intermittently.

"What's wrong with Trowa?" Heero asked, as if the auburn-haired boy was not right there.

Duo shot him a glare. "I don't know. Be quiet."

Quatre reached over to stroke Trowa's hair back from his face. "Trowa? _Êtes-vous tout droit_? (Are you all right?)"

"_Oui_," Trowa replied weakly, his voice shaky and rough, though it was obvious he was lying. He clung to the bars like a lifeline, his face covered in sweat that ran down his sunburned cheeks. Some of it might even have been tears; Quatre didn't know.

"_Maigre sur moi_, (Lean on me)" Quatre whispered, rubbing at Trowa's clenched hands. The boy slowly peeled himself off the gate-like door and curled against Quatre's chest. Duo helped him to lie down, the boy's head going into Quatre's lap. Trowa was taller than all of them, which meant that even curled in a fetal position, he took up quite a bit of space on the floor. Duo was forced to almost sit on Heero and Wufei's laps to give Trowa the room he needed.

Quatre wiped at Trowa's mouth with the hem of his own shirt, stroking the sweat-snarled hair lightly, murmuring soft words in French to the boy. Trowa looked absolutely miserable. The sun shone through the metalwork of the door onto his face, making him look snow white under its fierce hue. Quatre's hand moved to shade Trowa's eyes as best he could. The sunlight was blistering even through the shadows of the framework. Duo felt his shirt soak through completely with perspiration, and he could feel close to him that Wufei and Heero's pant legs were sticky with their own sweat as well. It had to be close to noon, he figured. It was just going to get hotter until the evening brought blessed relief.

Quatre looked up at Duo worriedly as Trowa seemed to drift off into a much-needed sleep. "Duo, he needs to go to the hospital."

"No!" Duo yelped, unable to stop himself, rousing Trowa from his sleepy state. "No way!"

"Shh!" Wufei scolded him, giving him a glare. "Trowa needs rest."

Quatre's lower lip started to tremble, and Duo put up the emotionless shield in front of his heart. Quatre was going to cry. "Duo, he's sick!"

"And bringing him to the hospital is just going to get him killed!" Duo replied.

"Duo, if they can give him some medicine," Wufei started.

Duo rounded on him, glaring darkly. "You don't know! They have no medicine there, Wufei! All they'd do is let him lay there til he died! I'm not doing that to him!"

Wufei pulled back, staring at Duo. Duo never yelled. "Duo…"

"Wrong nothing?" Trowa murmured from his spot in Quatre's lap.

Duo shook his head. "No. Go back to sleep, Tro."

Trowa nodded and closed his eyes again. Duo dropped his voice, turning to Wufei to whisper in his ear. "There are more selections. He'd never make it. He's safer with us."

"We're sentencing him to death this way, Duo."

"…Not yet," Duo replied slowly. "Maybe… I can do something."

"What can you do?" Heero hissed softly. "You're no doctor, Duo."

"But I _can_ work miracles," Duo replied, giving him the barest hint of a smile, the first one he had given Heero in a long time. "I'll try to sneak him some medicine. It should help."

"Duo, be careful," Wufei scolded. "If you get caught…"

"I'll be careful," Duo promised. "When am I not?"

That was true, Wufei admitted to himself. Duo always knew what he was doing. That was how he had survived as long as he had. Duo was a survivor by nature. "All right," he admitted grudgingly. "For Trowa."

"For Trowa," Duo agreed. For the sweet Romani gypsy boy who had befriended all of them and who was now the only reason for living for the weakest of all of them. For Trowa, he would get that medicine. For Trowa.

The heat had made them all dizzy, and Duo was fighting nausea himself by the time the sun finally started to set. As much as he didn't want to admit it, and, as much as no one else was saying anything about it either, the heat, Trowa's earlier upheaval, and all of them having to relieve themselves at one point or another in the same spot, in front of the door, made the air hang thick with a stomach-turning smell that they were trying to get used to. He was sure he was sunburned, and he was drenched from head to toe with sweat. He was sure he wouldn't be able to pull his shirt off without taking off a layer of skin with it. He had spent most of the afternoon plotting and trying to think of what he could get for Trowa. He had no idea what Trowa was sick with, but he figured almost any medicine would help something or another, and that was what mattered.

A different officer came to let them out, skirting around the mess by the door with a look of disgust. He unlocked the door and opened it, then turned away and left without a word. Trowa and Quatre almost fell over, since they had been leaning against the door, but Quatre got shakily to his feet, pulling Trowa up with him. Duo tried to stand up, but his legs felt like dead fish and wouldn't obey his commands. Wufei gave him a light push to help him up, and Duo balanced against the wall, unsteady.

Heero and Wufei stood up, using the wall for support. "Sorry," Duo apologized, knowing he had been sitting on their legs for the better part of the afternoon.

"It's all right," Wufei replied, massaging his leg gently with one hand. "We all were facing discomfort; it's not your fault."

Heero let out a growl in reply, shaking his leg sharply to try and wake it up. Duo tried to straighten out his back, biting his lip as a sharp pain went straight through his lower spine and his hips. "Ouch, shit…"

"Are you okay, Duo?" Quatre questioned softly from outside the door.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Duo replied, plastering his smile in place, but he was sure it looked as fake as it felt. "Come on, let's just go back to our bunk."

As they headed back through the darkening camp, Duo watched Trowa stumble along next to Quatre. He didn't like the feeling of helplessness that washed over him as he surveyed his group. He had no idea what was wrong with Trowa, Quatre was alive for no apparent reason, Heero was mad at him over something foolish, and Wufei… Well, Wufei was just Wufei, he supposed. How had they managed to become such good friends in the situation they were in? Desperation, maybe. The need for someone to be there for them, to care about them and want them, let them know they were not the dirt they were treated as. Whatever that bond was that kept them together, Duo prayed it would be strong enough to help them all stay strong as they climbed back up into their own bunk.

* * *

After lunch the next afternoon, Duo managed to slip two tiny pills into the cuff of his pants for Trowa. He was sure two pills wouldn't cure him overnight, but at least, he hoped, it would stop the coughing and the fevers for a day or two until he found some better medicine for whatever it was that Trowa had. The daily shift was almost over when one of the guards let out a bark of "Attention!" Duo automatically snapped upright, standing straight and tall, turning to face the door. Standing in the doorway, looking as unruffled and clean as ever, was Colonel Treize Khushrenada himself. Duo sucked in a breath. So, the Colonel was making the rounds for inspection. Duo had only seen him twice before, as the Colonel did not venture into the wild rough that was the camp all that often. He was probably afraid his clothing would become dirty from the filth around the inmates, Duo thought to himself as he stood there and tried to not look like he hated the man. 

"Prisoners, fall in! _Los_!" snapped one of the guards, shoving several of the nearest men into a line. Duo quickly left his spot at the long table covered in suitcases, joining the row. He was glad the shift was over. He could get back and give Trowa his medicine. Trowa had been looking ash gray this morning, a color Duo didn't like to see on a face so young, and he had coughed up blood again this morning.

The line moved forward, the guards patting down each of the men to make sure none were trying to sneak things out of the sorting block. Duo hardly paid attention, lost in his own thoughts about how worried Quatre was about Trowa and how he was hoping Trowa would soon get better so they could focus more on their relationship than Trowa's health. Hands moved down his body, but he didn't care. It was just routine.

He was brought back to caring when the hand stopped at his pants leg. "What have we here?" the soldier asked, his hand dipping into Duo's cuff. Duo froze. Shit.

A moment later, the hand reappeared, grasping the two tiny pills between the soldier's fingers. _How the hell had they found them?_ Duo wanted to know. He had smuggled bandages, shoes, food, clothing, paper, anything anyone could possibly imagine, and he got caught with two pills no bigger together than his pinky nail? They had never checked cuffs before. The Colonel standing right by their side must have made them be more thorough than usual.

The soldier next to the one who had frisked him grabbed his gun from his shoulder and pointed it straight at Duo. Duo froze, staring wide-eyed.

He almost passed out as Treize stepped forward, holding up a hand. "Hold your fire."

The soldier obeyed, lowering his gun. Duo forced himself to breathe again. "Out of line," Treize commanded, pointing to the side. Duo quickly obeyed, moving over to stand by the wall. Treize waved the frisking line on.

Once everyone had gone through and moved outside, Treize turned back to Duo, who hadn't dared to move, barely to breathe. "On your knees, Jew," he spat, pointing to the ground.

Duo obediently dropped to his knees, swallowing his pride. Disobeying right now would be a very bad idea.

Treize held out his hands towards the soldier who held the two pills Duo had tried to steal. The soldier handed them to him. Treize studied them a moment as Duo felt his knees dig into the dirt ground. "Antibiotics… Not for you, I assume?" he asked, glancing over at Duo. The braided boy looked relatively healthy, if not a bit pale and thin.

"No, _Herr_ Colonel," Duo replied, bowing his head respectively.

"For whom?"

"A sick friend."

"His name?"

"Trowa Barton, G72543, _Herr_ Colonel."

"Ah, yes… A friend of P133824?"

That was Quatre's number… How did Treize know Quatre? "Yes, _Herr_ Colonel."

"Is _Herr_ Barton ill?"

"…Yes, _Herr_ Colonel." What did it matter to Treize? Did that have to do with Trowa's number being written down? Would Trowa be taken to the hospital or worse?

"What is he ill with?"

"I… I don't know, _Herr_ Colonel," Duo replied softly.

"How ill is he?"

"V… Very. I not think he will survive without medicine," Duo replied, a tiny spark of hope igniting in his heart. Perhaps the colonel would not be as heartless as he thought, and the pills would be returned to him to help Trowa.

Treize nodded slowly. "I see." He smiled as he slipped the pills into his coat pocket, then suddenly pulled out his pistol from his side holster. "Seeing as you broke the rules, however, I'm afraid you must be punished."

Duo looked up, his eyes locking on the barrel aimed right at his head. Before he could do more than think about the four boys he was leaving behind, the crack of the pistol echoed through the room.

The very next morning, Trowa's body joined Duo's in a mass grave on the edge of camp.


	5. Senseless Waste

I am so sorry I haven't updated this in forever. Life was just crazy, and I apologize to everyone I left hanging. I know I probably lost a lot of fans by not updating, but I'm hoping those of you who enjoyed the story before will come back to it. I'll do my best to get the rest of it up in the near future.

Very special thanks to Reliak (aka K-chan) for being my beta, my critic, and my all-around support while I worked on this chapter! Love you!

Thanks to the following people for their reviews last time. I hope you all return to read more.

Demonforged, Reliak, Carol Coates, Kinkosami, Togona, Wishful Thinker8, Amy, SeppukuSamurai, Sanea, MsManga, Rikothedeathangel, Dalamar's Mercy, Yui-mag, KitsuneNekoTigi, Tri, Deaths Fallen Angel, Crysania Fay, Nakita, Jennilyn Maxwell, dstrbd child, nu, keyblademaster18, sindynotlogin, Kerry Emmanuelle, …, Akari Hoshi, laura, Manda, Silver Queen, Beff, Bombayoni, Nips, Muchacha, YukiNoHana1, yuffiegal, Two-Bit Wannabe, tati1, kantomon, and nikki.

Please review for me, and you'll get a personal shout-out in the next chapter. I'm interested in what people have to say. Thanks for reading!

* * *

The night Duo had not come back had been the worst night of any of their lives. Duo had been the glue that had held their little band together. He was the one who knew the most and the one who could do anything. They all felt powerless without him.

Word had trickled down through the camp to them that Duo had been caught with medicine. Stealing from "the Fatherland" was a capital offense, and rumor spread that Colonel Treize Khushrenada had personally pulled the trigger. Quatre had cried himself to sleep. Wufei had sat with his eyes closed long into the night, and Heero brooded silently, his own eyes unreadable except for a chilling fire that burned in their depths. But the worst had been Trowa, who had been coughing blood all evening, unable to even sit up from the bed. He had been struggling for breath just before he fell asleep, and, in the morning, when Wufei had been the first one to open his eyes, he had found Trowa's body next to him, his limp hand resting lightly on Quatre's, his smooth features calm and peaceful.

Wufei had hauled Quatre off the bed before Quatre could fully comprehend that Trowa was dead. But Trowa was not there that evening. His body had been cleared away like a piece of trash. Quatre wanted to scream and scream until the world faded away, but Wufei had simply pushed him down, covered him with a blanket, and ordered him to close his eyes. For the second night in a row, Quatre cried himself to sleep.

Quatre refused to get out of bed the next morning. He sat perfectly still, his legs crossed under him, his arms wrapped around his too-thin body, eyes unseeing.

"Quatre, let's go!" Heero nearly bellowed in his ear for the third time. The blond teenager didn't even bat an eye.

"We're going to leave you," Wufei threatened, his black eyes angry.

Quatre shook his head numbly. "No…"

"Yes. Now come on."

"N… No… I can't…"

"You can!" Heero growled in frustration.

"No… I need them."

"They're dead!" Heero hissed angrily. "They're dead, and they're not coming back!"

"Heero… I loved them."

"I know. We all cared for them," Wufei admitted softly, giving Heero a glance. Though nothing moved, the stoic boy's navy eyes revealed the same.

"Wufei… I… I can't go on without them. I just can't."

"Oh, for the love of-," Heero snapped angrily. "Why don't you grow a spine? Duo and Trowa were not your whole life! We all miss them, goddammit! People die every day! Stop acting like you're the only person who ever lost someone they care about!"

Quatre stared at Heero in shock, two tears gliding silently down his cheeks.

Wufei sighed and ever so awkwardly placed a hand on Quatre's shoulder. "Quatre… Duo gave his life to try to save you. And Trowa. And me, and Heero. He lost his life to try to save Trowa because he knew he meant so much to you, gave you a reason for living. Do you want his death to be in vain?"

Quatre looked up at Wufei with sorrow-filled eyes. "No."

"Then stop acting like your life is over! If you give up now, Duo's death will mean nothing, and Trowa will have been nothing to you. Is that what you want?"

"No… No!"

"Then get up."

Quatre looked like he wanted to resist again, but he just nodded slowly. "Why are you caring so much for me?"

Wufei's hand slid away from Quatre. "We made Duo a promise. He asked us that if anything should happen to him, we'd look after you and Trowa… And since both he and Trowa are gone… We are duty-bound to honor that promise."

"Is that all I am, a promise?"

"No." Heero's flat voice interjected this time. "Get your ass off this bed before we throw you off of it!"

Quatre swallowed hard and nodded, scrambling off the bunk, followed closely by Wufei. As he reached the floor, the tiniest hint of a smile graced his lips. Heero cared. _Thank you, Duo,_ he thought._ You cared for me, even in death. Now I will take care of them for you._ And that was when he made up his mind.

* * *

"Commander Khushrenada, Prisoner P133824 to see you."

The young, nutmeg-haired officer looked up from the papers on his desk to the woman in the doorway. "Ah, yes. Send him in. Thank you."

The soldier clicked her heels together and left the doorway. Treize smiled to himself. Just as he had predicted, Quatre had come to him.

A moment later, the woman reappeared, pushing in front of her a young boy with blue eyes too big for his face. "Sir."

"Thank you, Noin. You are dismissed. Please close the door behind you."

The soldier clicked her heels again and held her arm out straight. "_Heil_." She turned and left, closing the door behind her.

Treize watched her go, then turned to the blond teenager standing forlornly in the middle of the room, looking very much like a puppy with its tail between its legs. "Well, _Herr_ Winner. Have you made your decision?"

"You killed them." Quatre's voice was unnaturally low and deep. "You killed them both."

"Now, now, Quatre. You know that is how it is here in the camp. Those who steal from the Fatherland are punished. I could not appear weak in front of my men."

"Even if it meant the death of the two people who meant the world to me?"

"Aren't you perhaps being a bit dramatic? Won't you sit down?" Treize gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

"No!" Quatre stood his ground. "You're nothing more than a murderer!"

"You seem to forget, _Herr_ Winner, that _I_ am the one who holds _your_ life in my hands right now," Treize intoned coolly. "I could have you killed where you stand."

"Then do it," Quatre challenged sharply.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Quatre. I want what I want, and I will not be ordered around by you. And what I want is you. You are no good to me dead. Now… What is your answer?"

Quatre seethed silently, but inside he knew that no matter what he had no choice. The instant Treize had laid eyes on him, he had had no choice. He would be Treize's, with or without his consent, and that was that. But he couldn't let himself forget that this was the man who had killed Duo and had let Trowa die.

"You have two other friends, don't you?" Treize questioned, almost conversationally. "Don't you want to help them? Certainly a few bites of bread for them is worth it."

That was what he wanted. Heero and Wufei had promised Duo they would care for him when they could just as easily have abandoned him. He needed to repay them. "Will you protect them?"

"I can't protect anyone but you, Quatre. But I give you my word that I will not harm them."

"And you will… give me things?"

"Indeed. Warm clothing, hot food and plenty of it, a hot bath. Any luxury you want."

"Can Heero and Wufei be moved to a better location?"

"No. That would be suspect on my part. But perhaps a few extra blankets might suffice?"

"That would be nice. And some good food for them?"

"Of course. Bread, margarine, cheese, potatoes. Perhaps some milk as well?"

Quatre nodded slowly. He felt sick to his stomach. "Yes."

"Would you like something yourself right now? Some soup? Coffee? Champagne?"

"No…"

"Some water? Perhaps a shower? Would you like to wash some of that dirt off your pretty face?"

Quatre's hand flew to his cheek in both flattery and shame. "When are we-?"

"Now. Today. Yes, today. Before you change your mind."

Quatre swallowed hard. "Right now?"

"Yes. Go wash off in the bathroom. I want you clean. Go." He waved Quatre towards the bathroom attached to the office.

Quatre stared at him for a moment, then headed for the bathroom, closing the door securely behind him.

Treize watched him, smiling to himself. He moved over to lock the office door, ensuring that he would have privacy. Quatre was his now. It was too perfect.

Quatre stood in front of the mirror for a long time, just staring at his reflection. He hadn't seen his own face in what felt like years. There was a large smudge of dirt on one pale cheek, and his eyes looked sunken and dead in his too-slender face. His usually brilliant blond hair lay limp, matted, and dirty against his head. What did Treize see in him?

He finally shook himself out of his mental daze to take his clothing off for a long, hot shower. The warm water felt so good on his grimy, sun-damaged skin. He dried himself off on one of the fluffy towels, then dressed again. He took a deep breath and stepped back out into the office

Treize stepped out of another room behind the office at hearing the bathroom door open. "Come here, Quatre."

It was a bedroom attached to the office. Treize stood by the door, allowing Quatre in, then closed the door behind him. "Please," he said, gesturing to the bed.

Quatre ever so slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. He could still say no, still try to run. But Heero, and Wufei…

Treize slid onto the bed next to him, resting both hands on Quatre's tense shoulders. "No need to be afraid. If you cooperate, it shouldn't be very rough. I will not try to hurt you."

Quatre swallowed hard. "I'm only doing this for my friends."

"And I'm only doing this for your body. You want the luxury you've always known. There's no denying that."

"No. I'm doing this for Heero and-."

"Look in your heart, little one. That's what you want."

"Just get this over with. I want to be back to my barrack by the end of the day."

"Do not order me around," Treize replied, giving his arm a warning squeeze. Quatre winced.

Treize moved behind him, starting to massage his shoulders. "You're too tense."

"Do you expect me to be calm?" Quatre asked softly.

"No, but I expect you to at least be quiet and not so demanding."

Quatre swallowed hard. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Then lie down."

Quatre slowly complied, stretching out on the bed on his back. It was like sleeping on clouds compared to the hard planks of their bunk, but he barely felt it. His whole body seemed heavy, but his mind felt as if it were floating, drifting out of the window and up into the pale blue sky. He barely felt Treize give his cheek a gentle caress.

He did his best to block out what happened after that. He remembered Treize's hands, trying to coax him into enjoying it, but he couldn't. He remembered the pain, though Treize did everything he could to make it not hurt. The hands, the heat, the tongue, touching, teasing, rubbing, kissing, caressing…

By the time it was over, Quatre felt as if he had been buried under a ton of trash. "You may shower again if you wish, while I collect some things to send with you," Treize said after it was over, running his fingertips languidly down Quatre's smooth side.

Quatre nodded slowly, facing away from Treize, his blue eyes full of tears of humiliation and shame, but he would not let them fall. He had done it, just as Treize had said he would.

"Would you like anything? Something to drink? Eat?"

"No," Quatre whispered softly. Inside his body felt hot and pulsing, and he didn't like it, but what could he really do? If he complained, it would just make him appear childish.

The sheets rustled as Treize got up, pulling on his pants, then searching for his shirt. Quatre slowly got up. He caught up his clothing from the floor. He moved into the bathroom, walking a bit slower than usual until the aching faded. He closed the door, turning on the water as hot as it would go. He stepped under the scalding spray and just stood still, letting it wash over his body, washing away the filth. Only when he was sure he could not distinguish his own tears from the droplets that fell onto his face did he allow himself to cry.

When he finally emerged again some time later, dried and clothed, Treize was all dressed, looking as unruffled as ever, and holding several things for him. A paper-wrapped loaf of bread, a small container of milk, a wax-covered cheese, several potatoes, a big, woolen blanket, and a tin container. Inside the tin were two dozen cigarettes.

"Here is your half of the deal, Quatre. These cigarettes you and your friends may use to trade for food, clothing, whatever suits you." Quatre blinked at the words. How did Treize know that such things occurred amongst the prisoners and even the guards? Evidently he looked confused because Treize gave him the predatory smile of a hunting lion. "Oh, I know what goes on in my camp, _Herr_ Winner. I see no harm in a few bites of bread. All the Jewish filth shall die soon anyway."

"They're not filth!" Quatre hissed softly. "They're human beings, just like us."

Treize smirked regally. "You sound like a newcomer, little prince. They are nothing more than animals."

"You're wrong!"

"Unlike you, little one. You are perfect, you see? You're the ideal Aryan, so you will never have to fear for your life. You will serve the Fatherland well."

"Never."

"Get out."

Quatre glowered darkly, but he nodded. Treize moved to the door and unlocked it. He stepped out and beckoned to a nearby soldier with handsome eyes and long, blond hair. "Lieutenant, please escort this boy back to Barrack 19. Do not let anyone touch him or anything in his possession."

"Yes sir!" The soldier clicked his heels together, then cast a surprised glance over at Quatre. He recovered just as quickly. "Come with me."

Quatre moved towards the door. Treize leaned down as he passed him. "Two days from now you will come to me during lunch."

Quatre's cheeks burned with shame in answer as he moved to the side of the soldier in the doorway. The man closed the door behind them, smiling gently at Quatre. "Quatre Winner, yes?"

"Yes…"

"Lieutenant Zechs Merquise at your service. Come with me."

Quatre slowly followed after him, his eyes on the floor, his arms tightly clenching the precious bundles he carried. They did not pass many inmates, but the few they did stared at his packages with envy and at him with an empty sort of loathing. Quatre wondered if they could tell what he had done. He felt like his shame was radiating out from him for everyone to know exactly what he was. Everyone knew he was Colonel Treize Khushrenada's whore, who would sell his soul for a hot shower and a slice of bread. He ducked his head lower, trying to hide his face from the eyes that looked straight through him.

Once they reached the barrack, Zechs pushed open the door to allow Quatre to enter. Quatre stepped inside. It was still very early in the afternoon. No one else was back yet. He turned to the soldier, giving him a polite smile that he could tell did not reach his eyes. "Thank you for escorting me back."

Zechs nodded and bowed his head. "You're welcome." He made no move to leave the doorway.

Quatre frowned. "Is there something else you want?"

Zechs straightened up. "You are friends with Heero Yuy, aren't you?"

"Yes," Quatre said slowly.

"Will you tell him something for me?"

Quatre found this an odd request, but the man seemed so concerned. "Of course," he replied graciously.

"Tell him not to do anything stupid," Zechs replied with a perfectly resolved face.

Quatre nodded slowly. Heero was often so dead-set on his objectives that he didn't realize they were futile, so the advice was warranted. "I'll tell him. Thank you."

Zechs gave him a thin-lipped smile. "I hope he'll listen to you." And then he was striding away, back towards the camp's gate. Quatre watched him go in surprise. He hoped Heero did too.

Quatre couldn't wait for Heero and Wufei to return that night, if only because he had his new acquisitions, which he kept hidden under the blanket as the other prisoners milled around. They would steal anything and everything they could to survive, but Quatre forced himself to remain steadfast and hard-hearted. He couldn't help everyone. As Duo had said, he had certain people he had to look after.

Wufei and Heero returned together, heavy-eyed and slouching. They clambered up to the top of the bunk silently. Wufei gave Quatre the barest hint of a smile. Quatre smiled weakly back. "Are you all right?"

"We're fine," Heero replied, scratching his elbow.

"I have a surprise for you." Quatre forced himself to sound cheerful even though all he wanted to do was scream. He had thought it through and decided his friends didn't need to know about the disgusting things he had done in Treize's bedroom. That didn't matter. What mattered was that he had something to provide for the people who were the closest thing he had right now to family.

"What is it?" Wufei couldn't have sounded less uncaring if he had tried, and Quatre forced back a surge of anger. Wufei and Heero were exhausted after twelve hours of nonstop manual labor. Of course they would be snippy and tired. He gestured them closer. The last thing he wanted was the several hundred other men in the barrack seeing his treasures. They would be beaten up for them at best, killed at worst. Once they were close enough, Quatre pulled back the blanket to reveal his hidden cache. Wufei's dark eyes went wide, his mouth opening in shock, and Quatre almost laughed to see actual surprise register on Heero's normally stoic face.

"Quatre! Where did you…?" Wufei's words were no more than a soft exhalation.

"My secret," Quatre replied guardedly. "It's for all of us."

Wufei shook his head. "Quatre, we can't. If we get caught-."

"We won't. And, even if we do, the guards won't do anything." Treize wouldn't let them get in trouble for a gift he had given. There would be too many questions with awkward answers.

Wufei's eyes flickered a bit, and, for one long moment, Quatre feared that Wufei had figured out his shameful secret, but, the next moment, Wufei merely nodded. "Thank you."

Quatre nodded, smiling softly at the two boys. "We'll have a real feast. And I can get more."

"You don't have to do that," Wufei insisted softly as Quatre pulled out the bread and began to tear it into equal pieces.

"I do," Quatre replied firmly, handing a piece to each of them and starting on the cheese and sausage.

"What sorts of things can you get?" Heero asked curiously as he stacked his food into a makeshift sandwich.

Wufei glowered at Heero. "Absolutely not."

Quatre frowned. Evidentally they had discussed something dangerous without him if he knew what Heero wanted. They always discussed things without him. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Wufei replied firmly in a voice that told them both that the conversation was over.

Quatre went silent, beginning to nibble on his own meal. He wasn't at all hungry, even for meat, even though he hadn't eaten all day. As Heero and Wufei ate their own food eagerly, he pulled out the tin of cigarettes, dividing them again into three equal piles. "Here. We can use these to trade."

"Quatre… We can't accept these," Wufei insisted. "Whatever you did, these were given to you. We can't just take them from you."

"But I got them for all of us," Quatre said stubbornly. "I want you to have them."

"No."

"Please," Quatre begged softly.

Perhaps that would have worked with Duo and Trowa, but Wufei was not about to give in to Quatre's large eyes. "Not unless you tell us what you did to get them."

Quatre swallowed hard. "I… I can't."

"Then we won't take them," Wufei replied, going back to nibbling on his bread and meat.

They all went silent for a long time after that, finishing off all the bread, milk, meat, and cheese but saving the potatoes for the next day, hidden, wrapped up in a scrap of cloth. The tin of cigarettes went in next to it, and the wool blanket was spread out over their other ones. Combined with the blankets left by Duo and Trowa, they slept quite comfortably and warmly side-by-side-by-side.

Quatre was awakened in the middle of the night by both Heero and Wufei leaving the bunk to run to the privy. They were up and down for the rest of the night. Unaccustomed to the rich food and the amount of it that they had eaten that night, their stomachs rebelled with food poisoning. Quatre felt terrible for making them sick, but Wufei reassured him that they were grateful nonetheless.

The next evening, they shared the potatoes for a much better dinner than the sandy bread and muddy coffee they had been served earlier. Quatre offered the cigarettes again.

"I told you. Tell me where you got them, and we'll accept them," Wufei replied firmly.

Quatre sighed. "I can't."

"Why not?" Heero asked with narrowed, cobalt eyes.

"Because, you'll be angry."

"We won't. We're worried about you," Wufei said sternly. Heero's face didn't change.

Quatre picked at the corner of his blanket. "You shouldn't. I just want to take care of you."

"Tell us," Wufei insisted.

Quatre shook his head. Wufei sighed in irritation and threw up his hands. "Fine. Do what you want. You always do."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Quatre demanded.

"All we're trying to do is help you."

"You've already done that. Now it's my turn to take care of you."

"But you'll lie to us to do it."

"I'm not lying to you."

"You're not telling us the truth."

"The truth doesn't matter. What matters is that I can help you now!"

Wufei suddenly vaulted off the side of the bed. "Fine. Your choice. I'll be back later." And he vanished out the barrack door that stood open.

Quatre stared after him before turning to Heero in surprise. "I didn't mean…"

Heero gazed back at him for a moment before lying back on the bed. "He'll come back when he's ready."

Quatre sighed and lay next to him. "I'm sorry if I upset you, Heero."

Heero shook his head once. "I'm not upset. It's your business."

Quatre smiled softly and pulled a blanket up around him. After a moment Heero glanced over at him. "You're willing to share those cigarettes? You know how valuable they are."

Quatre nodded firmly. "It's only fair. Do you want yours?"

Heero sat up and slowly nodded. Quatre retrieved the tin and counted out Heero's portion.

"Don't tell Wufei," Heero said as he tucked the cigarettes safely into his shirt.

"I won't," Quatre promised. And, when Wufei returned half an hour later, Quatre only apologized.

"It's all right," Wufei replied, curling up on the bunk. "I just want to protect you."

"And I appreciate it, with all my heart," Quatre answered softly. "I'm just not really in the mood to talk about it."

Wufei was silent for a moment before his eyes shifted down. "It's been a rough few days."

Heero and Quatre nodded in silent acquiescence. Wufei watched the strip of sunlight that came through the open door slowly shrink as the sun vanished behind the buildings of the camp. "But I know Duo and Trowa would not want us to be upset."

"But it's not right that no one should mourn them," Quatre said softly. "If we don't remember them, who will?"

"We'll remember them," Wufei said gently, his beetle black eyes gazing firmly into Quatre's.

"But they deserve a proper rest," Quatre replied.

Wufei blinked. "Is there a way to do that?"

"Well, I think… at least a prayer, right? So their souls will hear it?"

Wufei frowned a bit. A prayer… His family had not been very devout. He couldn't recall a single time when he had prayed by himself for anything. Now that he was thinking about it, no words came to mind. The only thing he could think of was Meilan and his parents. "I… I don't know what to say, Quatre."

"Me neither… Heero, I don't know much about Judaism," Quatre said softly, turning to the other teen, each word slow and deliberate. "But wasn't there… a prayer for the dead?"

"The Mourner's Kaddish," Heero replied, the words of the prayer immediately coming back into his mind. How long had it been since he had thought of them?

"Would you… would you teach it to me?"

"You want to learn it?" Heero asked in surprise.

"Y… Yes… I… I need to. I need to recite it for Trowa, and… and for Duo. Please… Please teach me."

"Quatre, I haven't prayed in so long."

"But you remember it, right?"

"I do."

"Please, Heero? I would really appreciate it." Quatre's eyes were focused on nothing but Heero's face.

Heero felt his resolve crumble into ash. "All right. In Hebrew?"

Quatre nodded. Heero took a deep breath.

"_Yit-gadal v'yit-kadash sh'mey raba, b'alma di v'ra hirutey, vyam-lih mal-hutey b'ha-yey-hon uv'yomey-hon uv'ha-yey d'hol beyt yisrael ba-agala u-vizman kariv, v'imru amen._

_Y'hey sh'mey raba m'varah l'alam ul'almey alma-ya._

_Yit-barah v'yish-tabah v'yit-pa-ar v'yit-romam v'yit-na-sey v'yit-hadar v'yit-aleh v'yit-halal sh'mey d'kud-sha, b'rih hu, leyla min kol bir-hata v'shi-rata tush-b'hata v'ne-hemata da-amiran b'alma, v imru amen._

_Y'hey sh'lama raba min sh'ma-ya, v'ha-yim aleynu v'al kol yisrael, vimru amen._

_Oseh shalom bim-romav, hu ya-aseh shalom aleynu v'al kol yisrael, v'imru amen._"

Quatre listened attentively, and Heero was sure Wufei was listening as well. When he finished the prayer, he bowed his head a moment before looking up at the blond boy. Quatre looked as if he had been holding his breath. "What does it mean?"

"_Magnified and sanctified be God's great name in the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom soon, in our lifetime. Let us say: Amen._

_May His great name be praised to all eternity._

_Hallowed and honored, extolled and exalted, adored and acclaimed be the name of the Holy One, though He is above all the praises, hymns, and songs of adoration which men can utter. Let us say: Amen._

_May God grant abundant peace and life to us and to all Israel. Let us say: Amen._

_May He who ordains harmony in the universe grant peace to us and to all Israel. Let us say: Amen."_

"But, Heero… That doesn't mention death at all. Why is it a prayer for the dead?" Quatre asked softly, his voice hushed, as if he was in church, afraid to raise his voice.

Heero hesitated, thinking about it for a moment. "I… I think what it is… It's a celebration of life for those who mourn the dead."

"But why would that be a prayer for the dead if it celebrates life?"

"Quatre, I don't know. I don't ever pray anymore."

"Oh… I… I'm sorry," Quatre replied, looking away shamefully.

"It's all right… You wanted me to teach you?"

"Yes," Quatre replied softly. "If you wouldn't mind…"

"In Hebrew?"

"Yes."

Heero nodded slowly. "_Yit-gadal v'yit-kadash sh'mey raba_," he began.

"_Yit-gadal v'yit-kadash sh'mey raba_," two voices echoed after him. Heero and Quatre both looked up to see Wufei slowly repeating the words as well.

"_B'alma di v'ra hirutey_."

"_B'alma di v'ra hirutey_."

Heero taught them the whole prayer. Both learned very quickly, and they soon repeated the prayer on their own, Quatre for Duo and Trowa, Wufei for his family. It was quite encouraging, he thought, watching Wufei's bowed raven head as he prayed the words quietly to himself. He knew that Wufei's family had not been extremely religious, while Quatre had been brought up Christian, yet they both desperately needed to pray for their families and friends, and they were asking him for a special prayer.

Quatre was fiddling with his fingers in his lap as he prayed, and Heero caught the glint of tears running down his face. He hesitated before slowly reaching out and touching one of the tiny hands awkwardly. "Quatre…"

Quatre glanced down at the hand, then up at Heero in surprise. Heero gave his hand a squeeze. "Don't cry…"

"Heero… I miss them so much… I want to go home…"

"I know." Heero patted his hand uncomfortably before pulling away. "You'll be all right."

Quatre sniffed, swiping at his eyes. "I want them back…"

Heero was quiet, watching Quatre a moment before sighing softly. "Go to sleep now. You need to rest."

"You won't leave?" Quatre asked softly, his voice soft and scared.

"Of course not. Why would I?"

Quatre shook his head and lay down. Heero turned to Wufei. "You too."

Wufei nodded and lay down next to Quatre. Heero sighed softly and lowered himself to the dingy blankets, Quatre between him and Wufei. The boy was shivering and looking very much like he was going to keep crying for a long time. Heero reached down to pull a blanket over his tiny body. Quatre sat halfway up in surprise to look at him. Heero pushed him down again, a little rougher than he meant to. "Go. To. Sleep."

Quatre nodded weakly and closed his eyes. Heero lay still until he knew Quatre was finally asleep before he glanced over at Wufei. The boy's ebony eyes were still open.

"Are you all right, Wufei?"

"Yes," Wufei replied, his eyes meeting Heero's. "Are you?"

"Yes."

There was a long silence between them before Wufei slowly added, "That was a nice thing you did."

"What?"

"Teaching Quatre to pray for Duo and Trowa. I think he needed it."

Heero sighed softly. "That's the first time I've prayed in probably six years."

"Well… I appreciated it."

"You did?"

Wufei nodded slowly, careful not to wake the slumbering Quatre. "I… I've tried to find a way to let my family go. But it's so hard, no matter how strong you are. I know I said I buried them, but it's easier said than done."

Heero nodded slowly. "I understand." He gave Wufei the barest hint of a smile. "Glad I could help."

Wufei nodded before shifting a bit. "I suppose we should sleep. We're going to need our strength to work tomorrow."

Heero nodded and pulled his blanket up to his chin. "'Night," he mumbled.

"Good night," Wufei replied back before his scarab eyes closed to let sleep overtake him. A few minutes later, Heero joined him.

* * *

It was a little easier to sleep with Treize the second time. The third time, he didn't force his mind away from it, and the fourth time he found himself beginning to enjoy himself in Treize's warm, strong embrace. The fifth time, less than two weeks after they had first begun this partnership, Treize brought Quatre to his very first orgasm.

"I was thinking," Treize commented that afternoon as he held a slightly trembling Quatre close to his naked chest. "I would like you to quit your job in the kitchens and stay here with me during the day. I know you wouldn't want to leave your friends at night, but you don't see them during the day anyway."

"I was meaning to ask you about that," Quatre replied quickly, glad he had a reason to avoid answering Treize's question. "My friends are in the digging _kommando_. Couldn't they be transferred to somewhere else?"

Treize shook his head. "Not without a lot of questions."

"But it's hard work."

"The extra food they get from you is not enough?"

"It helps. It does," Quatre tried to reassure him. If Treize thought he was ungrateful, he might stop providing him with things. "But I want to keep them as safe as possible."

"There is not much to be done. They are young and strong. They would only be moved to the _Sonderkommando_, and they are rotated every few months."

The_Sonderkommando_ were the men who gathered bodies from the gas chambers and threw them into the large ovens to be burned. They were treated well, but that was because 'rotated' was another word for exterminated. "No," Quatre said quickly.

"Then they shall have to stay where they are for now. Perhaps in time I can do something about it." Treize gave him a perfectly measured smile. "If you stay with me, I might be more persuaded to work on finding them a place."

Quatre swallowed hard. They were back to the original question. If he gave in, Treize would have a lot of power over him. But, if he didn't, Treize would have even more. "I… I'll think about it."

Treize nodded. "Very well."

If the other inmates found out about him going to Treize's bedroom every day, he would be beaten or killed for siding with the enemy for special treatment. But it would mean no more kitchen duties, no more cruel insults from other people, more gifts for Heero and Wufei… Treize's room was warm. There was a stove and running water and a shower with as much hot water as he wanted. Treize would give him all kinds of delicious food and warm clothes. It would be almost like the luxuries he had once had at home, all in exchange for a few hours more spent in Treize's fine quarters. Quatre had to admit to himself that the thought was very appealing.

* * *

Two days later, Quatre sat playing solitaire on Treize's bed as he waited for the colonel to return from a meeting. He had been giving a lot of thought to Treize's request, enough thought that Wufei had become concerned about his silence. He had laughed it off and explained that he was tired, but it still stuck uncomfortably in his mind, like a splinter under his skin.

Treize entered the room with his hands tucked secretively behind his back. Quatre looked up quizzically from the cards in his hand.

"I have a present for you," Treize said, kicking the door shut behind him with one ebony-booted foot.

"Do you?"

"Yes. Come here."

Quatre set down the cards and unwound his slender legs from their crossed position, sliding off the bed. He moved over to Treize, who nodded towards the mirror on the wall. "Face that and close your eyes."

Quatre turned towards the mirror and closed his eyes, not quite sure what to expect. He heard something swish, and then felt the soft breeze of something going around his body. Something light and warm… "Open," Treize's voice came in his ear.

Quatre's eyes slowly opened to check his reflection in the mirror, and his breath caught in his throat, a gasp coming out through his open lips. His eyes were wide as he stared.

It was a robe, but not merely a robe. The shimmery silk sent rays of light everywhere. It was the color of the purest ocean, the same color as his eyes. The collar up by his throat flipped out and was lined with pure white fur that tickled his chin lightly. It went almost down to the floor, the sleeves hanging long. His hands went up to touch the fluffy collar.

"India silk," Treize said softly, running his hands over the sides gently. "And it's lined with rabbit fur."

"It… it's incredible…"

"I saw it, and I knew it was for you… The blue brings out your eyes so well."

"Yes, it… it does…" His hair seemed to shine like a halo on his head, set off by the cerulean blue. He ran his hands over the fur again, finally able to breathe again.

"I thought, with winter coming in a few months, you could wear this when you get out of bed."

"Yes…" Quatre reached down, his eyes still on his image in the mirror, tying the robe around his slender figure. "It's so… so beautiful…"

"Good. Only the best for my lover." Treize kissed his head once, then straightened up. "Go back to your game."

Quatre started at the sudden word. Treize had never used the word 'lover' to describe him. It felt odd to hear such an affectionate word come from the man he had once looked upon with fear and disgust. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, though, which was a startling thought.

He slowly moved back to the bed, hugging the robe to himself, sitting down again and rubbing his cheek on the soft collar fur. Treize watched him with a small smile. "I'm glad you like it. I have to finish this report. I'll be back soon."

Quatre nodded again, rubbing his hands over the sleeves almost reverently. Treize left, closing the door behind him. Quatre glanced up at the door, then back down at the robe, running his hands over it. It was so shiny and warm… The white rabbit fur against his cheek felt so soft…

It was a bribe. He knew it was. A bribe to get him to come back more often, to make him stay. But it was a nice bribe, he had to admit. The robe was incredible. So soft and warm, and it shimmered with opalesque light from the glow of the rosy lamp nearby.

He had no way of knowing that the robe had come from the suitcase of a young, Jewish girl, or that the girl had been gassed the day before, right after getting off the train. If he had known, he might not have taken it. He couldn't really say for sure.

* * *

The late August heat was so thick that the entire camp seemed lazy and sluggish. It was too hot to stay in the barracks in the late afternoon and early evening before the sun went down, so the prisoners were allowed to roam the area between the barracks and the central square where they had roll call. Quatre, Wufei, and Heero enjoyed spending the evenings sitting on piles of wood near the fences and staring up into the blue sky overhead, watching birds loop around and call to each other. The thousands of other prisoners all seemed to be enjoying the privilege of being outside as well. There had been very few fights and almost no instances of stealing or causing trouble. The camp seemed to be swarming, but it was easy to pretend they were alone.

"You know what I really miss?" Quatre asked one evening as they sat on the woodpile, Wufei drawing pictures in the dirt with a stick while Heero stared moodily at nothing.

"What?" Wufei asked, glancing up at him.

"Grass." Not a single blade existed within the confines of Auschwitz. Everywhere there was only dirt and stone.

"Of everything you could have said, you pick 'grass'?" Wufei asked with a chuckle, adding another curve to the bird he was casually drawing.

"You don't miss grass?" Quatre asked, leaning back on his hands.

"Of course I do, but I'm not about to pine for it."

"I'm not pining," Quatre replied, picking up a pebble and tossing it over his shoulder. It hit the sign on the fence with a soft 'clank', and he turned around to look. Of course, the sign didn't make much difference. 'Warning', it read. 'High voltage.' Beneath it was a skull and crossbones, the universal symbol of death, apparently. Quatre had always found that ironic. The entire camp was one big death trap, and the Nazis were taunting them with freedom beyond electrified barbed wire. He turned away again.

"Hey, Wufei. I was wondering. What do you think the future holds for us?"

"Quatre. It's too hot for philosophical conjecture," Wufei replied, glancing up at Quatre pointedly.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Quatre replied, scuffing his toe into the dirt. A burst of raucous laughter nearby made him look up. Three uniformed guards all stood nearby, chatting amongst themselves, their guns hanging limp on their shoulders. Quatre felt Heero stiffen a bit beside him. He could guess what was going through the Jewish teen's head right now. If he could get his hands on one of those guns, they'd be able to get free. Of course, that would never happen. He struggled to think of another topic of conversation. "Well, what could we talk about that would not be philosophical?"

"How's kitchen work been going?" Wufei asked.

"Well," Quatre replied with a smile. "It's been a little warmer than usual inside, but it's been quite pleasant otherwise."

"You must be eating pretty well there. You don't look as thin as you did last month."

"Oh? I… I hadn't noticed." Quatre scuffed his foot into the ground again. Of course, there was another reason for that. Treize offered him anything he wanted to eat whenever he visited. Cake and dumplings and even champagne. Of course, he was not allowed to bring that sort of thing back to his friends, but he wouldn't really want to anyway. Bread and cheese he could explain away, but cake would be a dead giveaway of his secret provider.

Another burst of laughter interrupted his thoughts. The guards were jabbing each other playfully. One of them grabbed the cap off his friend's head, holding it up high. Heero's head snapped up, rising quickly. "Come on, let's go."

Wufei glanced up in surprise at him. The guard suddenly tossed the hat up, and it caught on one of the barbs of the fence, several feet above their heads where it flapped limply in the breeze. In an instant, Wufei was on his feet, pulling Quatre up off the woodpile with him.

"Hold it right there!" barked the third guard, pointing to them. The three froze under his severe gaze. Quatre felt his breath catch in his throat. _No. Oh please, God, no…_ His heart felt like it had stopped beating. This was the guards' favorite game, and they were caught right in the middle of it.

The soldier's dark eyes drifted over them, sizing them up, over Heero, over him, and finally lighting on the last member of their little party.

"You there, pretty boy." The man's smile was malicious. "Retrieve that hat."

For one instant, Quatre felt as if the all the oxygen had been sucked from his lungs. He gasped loudly, a scream tearing itself from his lips. "No!"

The guards laughed cruelly. The man who had thrown the hat reached for the pistol at his waist. Wufei watched his hand move before quickly taking a step forward.

"Wufei!" The air returned all in a rush, and Quatre started to reach for his friend to grab him. Behind him, Heero lunged, wrapping one arm around Quatre's arms, pinning them to his sides, wrapping the other hand around his mouth, cutting off any sound. Quatre found himself pulled back against Heero's strong chest. He struggled against the hold, his cerulean eyes focused on the retreating back of his friend. Why wasn't Heero letting him stop him?!

Heero watched Wufei walk away, his own heart thundering so hard he could feel its irregular rhythm along with Quatre's. As soon as the guards had chosen them, there was no way they all would have been able to walk away together. He gritted his teeth. _I'm sorry, Wufei. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to protect you._ He just held his ground even as Quatre struggled and thrashed in his arms, trying to break his hold. Quatre's breath was frantic against his hand, but Heero didn't dare release even his mouth. Hearing Quatre screaming would not save Wufei. It would only make it worse.

Wufei approached the innocent-looking fence, not once turning around. He wouldn't look at them. He couldn't. He couldn't look back and see Quatre in Heero's arms, see the tears that he knew Quatre would be shedding, see the cruel smiles of the men who had just sent him towards his death. He might have refused; but the guns in the soldiers' hands could kill more than just him. There was only one choice in the matter.

His eyes were focused on the cap at the top of the fence post. His walk was steady, firm, no hint of hesitation at all. He had prepared himself for death since he had arrived here six months ago. Now it was here. He could hear laughter somewhere nearby; it sounded as if it were underwater. His own heart was rushing in his ears. Death would be swift, and soon he would be with Meilan and his family again. With that thought, he reached out, his hand steady and strong, his eyes lifted up to the blue, cloudless sky high above him, and grasped the fence wire tightly with both hands.

Heero watched in horror as Wufei's body jerked and spasmed against the wire, feeling Quatre stiffen in his arms. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't even force himself to. He was watching his best friend in the entire world die, and he didn't know what to do. He felt completely helpless inside.

After only a few moments, Wufei's body went limp against the fence, slumping to the ground, his hands still clenched around the barbed wire. Heero felt sick. Sometimes prisoners committed suicide by throwing themselves against the electric fence, but that had never even been considered an option by any of them. Why hadn't they been watching? The next moment, Heero felt Quatre go limp in his arms as the blond suddenly passed out. The guards were laughing again. There was nothing to be done. Wufei was gone. Heero scooped Quatre up in his arms, and, as fast as he could, dashed back to Barrack 19.

* * *

Quatre didn't know how he got back to his bunk, but he woke up with a gasp in the middle of the night. Heero was next to him, staring back at him calmly in the darkness, only the glint in his eyes visible. Quatre's eyes darted around, his heart beating frantically. Wufei had to be here. He had to be. But the spot he normally slept in was empty. Quatre looked around again. Wufei was just in the privy, or over by the _blokowy_'s door to see if he was asleep. But Wufei did not appear. He turned to Heero in desperation.

Heero slowly shook his head once before sitting up a bit. The next moment, Quatre was in his arms, sobbing against his chest. He was still a moment before gently wrapping his arms around the delicate blond, his own arms strong and warm. He was being strong for Quatre, but Wufei's death was affecting him more profoundly than Duo or Trowa. Of all the boys, he had been the closest to Wufei, ever since the moment Wufei had saved him their first night in the camp. Wufei had been calm and levelheaded, but not passive like Trowa, and he did not show his emotions the way Duo had. Nor had he tried to force bonds between anyone. He let things happen as they would and rolled with the punches. When it had just become the three of them, Wufei had shed his tears in private and had kept calm in front of Quatre. Wufei had become the glue that held them together. But he had died so pointlessly. Duo had been playing Russian Roulette with his stealing, and Trowa had been beyond help, but Wufei was young and strong. He had been sure Wufei would survive and go back to his life beyond the fence. He had the strength and will to carry on despite the hell they were living in. Yet he had faced death so calmly, so willingly. What had been in his mind as he approached that fence, knowing that he would die? Heeero wished he knew. It was all so stupid. What a senseless waste.

Quatre seemed to have calmed after several long minutes. Heero glanced down into those teary eyes, steeling himself for some whimper or apology, but he was not prepared for what he heard next.

"Heero, if you want to leave me, you can. I know you'd rather not have to look after me."

"Don't be stupid," Heero replied firmly. "I said I would take care of you, and I meant it." It was the least he could do, after all.

Quatre stared at him in surprise. He had figured Heero would jump at the chance to unload him and be on his own. He had always expressed that he could survive better by himself. "Heero, are you sure?"

"Yes," Heero replied firmly. "We're in this together."

Quatre stared a moment before smiling softly. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Heero replied firmly.

Quatre hesitated before gently hugging him. It didn't matter if Heero was perhaps only using him or didn't really care about him. He at least had one person who would not leave him, no matter what happened. That made him feel better despite the void occupying by the empty space beside them.

* * *

Heero supposed he would have to thank Quatre at some point. When he and Wufei had worked together out in the fields digging trenches in the hard, dry earth, they had discussed Quatre's strange behavior over the last few weeks. Wufei's only conclusion had been that Quatre had a secret lover that he didn't want to tell them about. Some inmates, especially in the women's half of the camp, they knew, would sell themselves to the soldiers for special favors, and that seemed to be the only logical explanation for the items Quatre would bring back for them. They were too nice and too large to be sneaked out of the sorting block. Heero was not about to ask questions when he knew he would get no answers. Frankly, he didn't care. Quatre often brought back tins of cigarettes from this secret person, and Heero stockpiled his half. The things he needed were not cheap, and it was risky to collect things without a reliable contact. However, he managed to trade all of his cigarettes for the components he needed, and, in the evenings when all was quiet, he would slip away to the trash pile in the center of the camp.

There he would work on assembling his crude but effective bomb. Screws, nails, bolts, and glass made up the shrapnel, the casing an old coffee tin, all of which he had been able to find on his own. Just a few simple chemicals from in the suitcases of the exterminated Jews, a few wires from the trash or nicked from other electrical devices, and he was in business. Heero wondered if his grandfather was still alive. The old man had always been interested in science, and their long nights working side by side on every sort of device was paying off. He had never thanked him for it, but, if he ever saw him again, he would have to.

The evening he planned to set it off, towards the end of September, Heero sat silently with Quatre who was chattering mindlessly away about the trip his family had once taken to Italy, wondering if this was the last time he would see the boy again. He was sure he wouldn't be able to take out the entire command headquarters, but, if he could just create enough chaos, the prisoners would be able to revolt and get away. Whether or not he himself would walk away from the explosion was another matter altogether. If he died, so be it; it was all for the greater good. If he succeeded in wiping out Treize Khushrenada, the ensuing pandemonium would tear the camp apart at the seams.

Heero excused himself to the privy, and, once Quatre had lain down and was not paying attention, slipped out the door. The sun was just beginning to set. The officers would be in their quarters, eating dinner and playing cards. It was the perfect time. He dug his bomb out of the pile of rags he had hidden it in. The one match he had been able to procure from his source was tucked in the cuff of his pants. He slipped the bomb under his shirt and ducked into the shadows that stretched long over the ground, heading towards the offices by the gates.

Getting past the crematoriums was difficult. They were heavily guarded to protect from sabotage. The chimneys belched clouds of black smoke that stank with hellish rot. Heero felt it seep into his pores as he crossed underneath it. The burning smell of human flesh permeated his skin, filling his eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs with its choking blackness. If he washed for a thousand years, he was sure he could never remove the smell from his skin.

He slowed down as he passed the watchtowers, but the guards there seemed to be lazy and bored, waiting for their relief so they could go have a drink and some dinner. Finally, Heero reached the command offices, his skin sticky with sweat from the heat and the radiating hellfire of the chimneys.

A quick glance around, and he pulled the bomb from under his clothes, placing it directly beneath the window of Treize's office that looked out over the camp. He would have to work quickly now. He reached for the match inside his cuff.

The cold barrel of a gun pressed against the back of Heero's neck. He froze. "Stand up. Keep your hands where I can see them."

Heero swallowed hard and carefully lifted his hands up, pushing himself up from the ground. "Turn around." He carefully turned. The barrel of the gun pressed between his eyes. He focused on the man who held it instead.

His gaze met the long blond hair and bright, ice blue eyes of a familiar soldier. Lieutenant Merquise. "You always seem to be the one causing trouble, Heero Yuy," the man said.

Heero glowered a bit. "Aren't you going to shoot me?"

Zechs lowered the gun from Heero's face, though his arm stayed tense, ready to shoot if Heero ran. "I should."

"Then do it," Heero replied, straightening his shoulders defiantly as he lowered his arms. "Or I'll blow this whole place to hell."

"You have guts, boy. I'll give you that. I saved you that day you arrived because I liked the look in your eyes. You weren't going to give up like the others," Zechs said with a small, sardonic smile. "I see I was right."

"What is your point?" Heero knew he was mouthing off to a Nazi officer, but truthfully he didn't care.

"My point is, don't do anything stupid that makes me have to kill you," Zechs told him firmly. "I want you to live."

"Why should one life matter so much to you?" Heero demanded.

"Just because I work for the people that commit these atrocities doesn't mean I support them," the lieutenant responded. "Not all Nazis are bad, Heero Yuy."

"You all deserve to die."

"I could easily say the same thing about Jews. But I don't."

Heero glowered angrily. "Are you finished?"

"If you are. Step away from your device."

"No."

"Don't make me shoot you." Zechs' voice dropped lower. "You'll get another chance one day if you don't die now."

"But you will not let me do what needs to be done," Heero snarled softly.

"No, I will not."

Heero hesitated, then slowly took a step to the side, away from his crude, makeshift bomb. Lieutenant Merquise was right. He had been caught now, and he could have been killed, but this man had chosen to not pull the trigger.

The blond soldier gave him a hint of a grateful smile. "Thank you."

Heero just glared in return. What was he supposed to say to that? 'Thank you for not shooting me'? "You're a coward."

Zechs' face didn't change. "Perhaps I am. But I'd rather be a coward than a murderer."

Heero understood, but that didn't make it any easier for him to walk away. All that wasted time. All that wasted energy. All that wasted saving. It was all for nothing. That was what hurt the most.

Zechs picked up the device, studying it. The boy had some skills, that much was certain, though his plan certainly was much more fanciful than realistic. He was one to keep an eye on. But not too closely, Zechs thought with amusement. Hopefully one day soon something would happen, and Auschwitz really would see the end of its reign of terror.

Unbeknownst to him or to the boy retreating into the shadows, Colonel Treize Khushrenada was watching them both from the window.


End file.
